


Mistletoe

by ChangeTheCircumstances



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Kaiju, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Gen, Holidays, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Smidge Of Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-01-15 09:44:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12318510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChangeTheCircumstances/pseuds/ChangeTheCircumstances
Summary: With the Beckets joining them for Christmas, Chuck wonders if things will go as poorly as last year's.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So for those who may recognize my username and the name of this fic title, yes I did do one very similar to this almost two years ago now. Getting back into the Pacific Rim fandom with the release of the new trailer, I decided to re-read it and though it definitely has a special place in my heart, I will be the first to admit it wasn't that good.
> 
> Nevertheless, it and the trailer drop has inspired me to revisit it. I don't think I'll delete it from my account because I'm still happy I wrote it and I think it's a good way to judge how far I've come but I hope to add a lot more depth and just better writing in general with this one. For those curious, it'll have a similar story line but I'll be adding a lot more character interactions along with story that's not just centered around Yancy and Chuck.
> 
> Also, though I know it's early for Christmas, I want to try and get this remake out before Christmas so I decided it best to start now. Also, I just don't have a lot of time to write despite how much I love to so I thought this would be an easier and less stressful way that would allow me to keep writing.
> 
> Anyways, if you've taken the time to read all this, thank you. As a final note, since nothing about Jake has been released, this could be a very OOC version of him but I wanted to put him in the story at least a little bit and to see how he might fit into the idea of Mako and Chuck growing up together.
> 
> Also, estimating about ten chapters but that could always change. Thank you for taking the time to read this again and I hope you enjoy. Thank you <3

The sun shone over the city as it sat in the bright, blue sky. No clouds obscured the way as the plane was given clearance to take off and the engines were brought to life. It wasn’t any Australian day but California hadn’t been awful in the past two years. Well, the scenery and weather was certainly welcomed. The people he had to deal with were another matter. Granted, didn’t matter where you went. College was college and people were dicks. No difference.

Still, for better or worse Chuck was antsy, sitting there and feeling the plane lift off the ground. He almost wanted to stay in California if only to avoid all the bullshit of the Holidays. The only reason he’d caved was because of what had happened last year and he didn’t want to upset his father in any way this time. Only the Christmas after his mom’s death had been worse than last year’s and even then it had been a close contender.

Aunt Luna being stuck in the hospital after her aircraft had malfunctioned, hers and Stacker’s mother passing away, then that letter showing up with his dad’s name written on it…Christ it had been a while since Chuck and his father had fought like that.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly before reaching forward and scratching behind Max’s ear.

“Oh, what a cute dog. What’s his name?”

Chuck bit back a groan. He even had an empty seat next to him because Mako had cancelled last minute and yet this woman was still leaning over and trying to talk to him.

“Max,” Chuck got out as he pulled his headphones out of his pocket. Not that this woman had given him any reason to hate her but he was in even less of a mood to deal with nosy strangers than usual. God, why had Mako gone with Raleigh anyways? She was always better at dealing with people than him.

“Oh is that an accent? Are you…”

The woman continued to prattle on as Chuck put his headphones in and leaned back with a sigh. As long as she didn’t reach over and poke him with one of her fingernails or something, he could at least drown her out for the majority of the flight.

At one point he managed to doze off, jolting awake at the sound of Max whining as they started to make their decent for New York City. At the connecting flight he made sure to get his parka and scarf out, mentally saying goodbye to the decent weather and hello to the frozen hellscape he was going to have to deal with for nearly a month.

He also got a text confirming that Stacker would be picking him up once he arrived. There was a time when he would have turned around and headed straight back to wherever the hell he had come from at the mention of that, but after half of his childhood had been spent growing up with the man, there was a certain fondness there.

Honestly, what with his hard rules and typically strict exterior it was amazing Chuck hadn’t turned out more of a rebellious ass than he already was. It could probably be tracked back to that day when his dad hadn’t been able to pick him up from school. Stacker had been forced to bail him out of another fight at age twelve and Chuck could still remember what he’d yelled at Stacker on the way out of the principal’s office.

_You don’t know me at all!_

That had lead to Stacker stopping him in his tracks, spinning him around, and with the utmost seriousness, giving him the speech of a lifetime. It was kind of a wakeup call for him while simultaneously disproving his previously held belief that Stacker didn’t pay attention to him at all or even cared. Things obviously didn’t become perfect after that. There were still fights and arguments and times where Stacker and/or his father had to come get him from detention but Chuck could definitely call it the starting point.

His relationship with Mako had improved after that as well and he couldn’t help but smile at the memory of the first time _both_ he and Mako had been sent to the principal’s office. If the reasoning was right enough, Mako could be the perfect partner in crime as their time at school had proven. He particularly loved the memory of him and Mako sneaking into the cafeteria and dispersing all the ice cream bars because, to quote Mako, “the price was unfairly high and classist towards children of poorer families”. Also watching as his father had been forced to hide a smile behind his hand while Stacker’s own lips had even twitched upwards at Mako’s defense in front of the furious principal had been priceless.

Once his second flight was up in the air and people could turn their phones back on, Chuck decided to send a quick text to Mako. He partially just wanted to know what his step-sister was up to but also wanted enough warning to figure out when she’d be in England.

After all, this Christmas was going to be stranger for a number of reasons, the main one being the addition of the Beckets. Chuck still wasn’t sure how the invitation had happened because he sure as hell wouldn’t have invited them and Mako was too thoughtful to invite a whole family over without Stacker’s o.k. Something about when his dad had visited them and had run into Raleigh while hanging out with him and Mako? Somehow he knew the elder one, Yonce or some other name that was just as ridiculous as Raleigh, and maybe something about having no other family or whatever for Christmas so they should come spend Christmas with them? Chuck couldn’t be sure as he hadn’t really asked and any mention of the Beckets he’d ignored.

The youngest one, Jazmine, was about his age but they’d only spoken once before since she went to a different college and rarely got time off. From that one meeting, Chuck could say she wasn’t quite as unbearable as her brother but Chuck wasn’t exactly holding out hope for the eldest one which he’d never met. Knowing his luck, he’d be even more insufferable than his brother and sister put together.

His phone buzzed.

_In Italy at the moment. We’ll make it to London in three days._

Chuck frowned at the response. Of course, his lack of knowing was mainly his own fault seeing as he hadn’t bothered to ask but he couldn’t help but respond immediately.

_Why the hell are you in Italy?_

It didn’t take long for Mako to shoot back a reply.

_I’m with Raleigh._

Chuck face-palmed before quickly responding again.

_I know that! I thought you were picking up his brother!_

_Don’t yell._

_I’m not yelling! I’m angrily texting! Why are you in Italy!?_

_Because it had the best hospital they could get him to. He has been too unstable to travel long distances._

_I saw him like a week ago._

_I’m not talking about Raleigh!_

_Now look who’s yelling._

_This is your fault for not paying attention._

_Will you just tell me who is in the hospital!?_

_Yancy Becket. He was in the accident six months ago._

Chuck finally paused in his texting to try and think back. He asked:

_Is that why Raleigh disappeared during the summer?_

_OMG. You honestly don’t know?_

_Look at you. Using English texting slang correctly. Proud of you Mako._

_That is not the point Charlie!_

There was a pause as Chuck watched the little bubbles appear before disappearing and then reappearing again.

_You have to promise to be nicer than usual._

_I’ll do no such thing._

_I am serious. No staring. No bad jokes. Not with Raleigh’s brother._

_Whatever._

_He was injured quite badly Charlie. Best behavior._

_I got it! No need to hammer it home._

_Promise._

_You really want me to text out all those letters?_

_Yes._

Chuck rolled his eyes and did so with a sigh.

_I promise. Good?_

_Yes. Thank you._

Chuck simply snorted at her response, his fingers hesitating as he thought about asking exactly what had happened. Wracking his brain for any information, he knew that the brother had been in the army for something like the past four years. Somehow he’d met his father in one way or another, hence the invitation, and he had to have been stationed far enough away that he’d never visited, at least not while college was in session where Chuck might have seen him.

He honestly tried to think up any specifics but then, it probably would have been odd if Raleigh had been particularly chatty about this accident if it was as bad as Mako was making it sound. He did remember Raleigh appearing more distracted this past semester and just barely recalled a comment about…not being able to walk? Had Mako mentioned that? Was that about the brother?

Chuck shook his head. Either way he’d find out soon enough and he was honestly done with talking about the Beckets for now. He’d text Mako when he landed but otherwise returned his attention to Max for a bit, making sure the dog was comfortable before dozing off again as they went over the ocean.

In total it was a near thirteen hour long flight and with the time changes from California to New York and finally to London, it was four in the morning by the time Chuck made it.

The moment he was able to he let Max out of the soft carrier and placed him on the ground where he panted happily. He situated his book bag on both shoulders and grabbed his main suitcase from the belt before heading out to look for Stacker. It being London and nearly Christmas time, the place was still pretty packed and it took Chuck a moment to pick Stacker out of the crowd.

As they drew closer, Chuck let go of Max’s leash and watched as the bulldog happily waddled faster towards the familiar scent. He could still recall when Stacker had adamantly said no to Herc’s suggestion of a dog only to realize it was less of a suggestion and more so a statement of “I may have already got us a dog”.

That initial annoyance was gone as Stacker bent down and openly welcomed Max with a slight smile on his face. After lovingly scratching behind his ears, Stacker picked up his leash and stood up again before nodding towards Chuck.

“It’s good to see you.”

Chuck inclined his head in agreement as he took the leash back from Stacker.

“Your father’s happy you made it,” Stacker continued in a tone that clearly said he hadn’t bought the initial excuse.

“For your information I do have a project that’s due near the start of next semester,” Chuck responded with a pointed look.

“Well your father appreciates you putting it aside for the Holidays.”

Chuck rolled his eyes at that, heading off towards the parking lot. However, after getting across the street, Stacker stopped him and gave him another serious look. “I do mean it. We’re both glad you’re here.”

“Yeah…well even if Christmas is as shitty as last year how can I say no to your Christmas pudding?” Chuck responded with a quick shrug as he moved forward again.

Fond or not, that didn’t exactly mean Chuck was the best at expressing himself and he certainly didn’t want to bring up more memories of last year. Thankfully Stacker seemed to agree and he directed him to his car. With the annoyance of traffic, it took about an hour to get out of the heart of the city. With his dad that might have led to some awkward small talk that was designed to get at the heart of something but one perk of dealing with Stacker was that at least he didn’t mind the silence as much, and if he asked something, he got straight to the point without dancing around other subjects.

There were a few questions about school that Chuck answered with a snort and, “No I’m not partying too hard.” Then on to Mako which reminded Chuck he needed to text her he was home before he told Stacker what she’d told him earlier. After a bit more silence and as they got closer to home, Stacker added, “Jake will also be joining us for Christmas this year.”

Chuck perked up at that. Despite technically being his step-brother, he’d never been super close to him and recalled the on and off again relationship he had with his father. Still, it hadn’t been quite as bad as his own relationship with Herc. “His mother coming too?” asked Chuck.

Stacker raised an eyebrow.

“Alright, probably a stupid question. But is this going to be a ‘we’re doing a family Christmas whether you like it or not’ or is he willingly coming?”

“Willingly,” Stacker said, his eyes betraying the amusement that he managed to keep out of his voice. “He’s been around quite a bit since you and Mako have been at college.”

“Oh yeah. I think Da mentioned that. Trying to take advantage of us being gone huh?”

“The last time we talked, he is looking forward to it,” stressed Stacker, “so try and be on your best behavior.”

Chuck let out a groan. He knew immediately what Stacker was alluding to. “I was fourteen! Besides, I was just trying to defend Mako.”

“Well should the need arise now, I believe Mako will do just fine.”

Chuck rolled his eyes at that. “He’s fifteen now, right?”

“Sixteen.”

“Mako sixteen or me sixteen? I need to mentally prepare myself.”

“He’s Jake sixteen.”

“That’s not really answering my question.”

“I know,” Stacker responded and there it was. A soft, deep laughter that was rare to see breaking through Stacker’s typical persona. It wasn’t so shocking now but there was a time when each laugh had Chuck’s eyes going wide and his body spinning around to stare in disbelief.

Now Chuck simply laughed along, the rest of the drive turning to silence. He checked his phone as they pulled into the driveway but Mako hadn’t responded. Not too surprising considering the time.

He got out with Max hurrying to the front door, possibly the most excited about being back home. Besides the biting wind and feeling like his fingers were going to fall off though, Chuck was honestly happy to be back and he looked forward to seeing his dad. It had been three months since he’d managed to visit him and Mako in California.

Stacker grabbed his suitcase as Chuck followed Max up the steps and inside. There was light coming from the living room and as Chuck moved forward, he could see the glow from the dying fire cast over the furniture and his father. He was passed out on the couch, a wooly blanket having slipped to the floor as his head rested against his shoulder. Chuck noted the clean shaven face and wondered if he’d get to hear some story about a bullshit meeting his dad had to attend. That would be the only reason Herc would ever shave after all.

Max looked like he was ready to bark but Chuck quickly made a shushing sound. “Let’s let him sleep,” he whispered, instead opting to help Max onto the couch where he could get closer. Chuck pulled the blanket back up just as Stacker came in.

“I suppose staying up for us didn’t go as planned,” Stacker murmured.

“Allows for a nice surprise in the morning,” smirked Chuck as he took his suitcase and headed upstairs to his old room. Though bigger than most around here, there house would get pretty crowded once Christmas actually arrived. He wondered where everyone would get stuck sleeping or if the Beckets were getting a hotel. He hoped for the latter as he walked into his old room.

An old poster was still on the wall along with a shelf of old sports trophies. A quick look in the closest showed where most of his things had been placed and he made a mental note to stop procrastinating and go through it later.

Deciding that he’d slept plenty on the plane and he’d need to get accustomed to the time change anyways, Chuck decided to focus on unpacking before turning to the design project he’d have to work on through the break. He got in two good hours of work before hearing some type of noise coming from downstairs. Chuck took that as a sign to say hi and hoped that if breakfast was being made, it was Stacker who was doing it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is definitely largely being written for myself, just for fun and a practice at improving past writings and character growth. That makes this mean all the more that anyone is choosing to read this. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
> 
> I plan to update once every week and assuming that I stay at 10 chapters for this, that means I should have this done before Christmas for anyone who will want to read this in one go for the Holidays. Thanks again and please enjoy <3

“And then the bastard had the audacity to question me because he didn’t like my accent,” growled out Herc just before he shoved a spoonful of eggs into his mouth. He swallowed quickly, washing it all down so he could quickly add, “Dressed up in that bag of fruit and shaved for that prick and then all he has to comment on is my accent. God damn cocky dickhead.”

Chuck let out a sharp laugh before dropping a piece of bacon on the floor for Max. “And you always wondered where I got my mouth from.”

“It’s not my fault those heartless sons of—”

“Coffee?” Stacker smoothly asked.

“Thanks,” Herc replied, the coffee quickly following the orange juice and eggs. That didn’t stop him from finishing his thought though. “Anyways, those sons of bitches only care about god damn profit! Protecting people is the god damn point but they just want a few extra fucking bucks.”

“That’s why you and Stacker are there. To keep money grubbing slugs like them back along with the crazy visionaries. Like Newt,” replied Chuck with a smirk as he remembered the tattooed doctor. “Is he and Dr. Gottlieb coming for New Year’s Eve?”

“Last we checked,” Herc said with a nod. “Don’t worry. We’ll warn you if the Kaidanovskys decide to come as well.”

“Christ, I am not afraid of them,” muttered Chuck. “It’s been nearly eight years since then!”

“Of course. Of course,” Stacker gravely said as he finally sat down at the table. “I simply remember a young boy letting out a squeak as he opened the door and went running to his father to hide behind the scary Russians.”

“Not bloody scared,” Chuck shot back. “Just didn’t expect two bleach blonde monsters at our doorstep.” He rolled his eyes as he watched his father and Stacker share a knowing look. “Listen, I just want to know if I’m going to have to deal with three people shoved into my room on New Year’s Eve because this house is bursting at the seams. Christmas itself is going to be full enough.”

“That reminds me,” Stacker quickly said, “Tamsin and Luna are coming a day earlier than expected. I’m going to need your help today to switch the downstairs study into a bedroom so it’ll be ready for them tomorrow.”

“What about the Beckets?” asked Chuck.

Herc raised an eyebrow. “What about them?”

“Well where the hell are they going to sleep? Are they going to get a hotel or something?”

“At this time? Not likely,” Stacker replied. “I’m assuming Raleigh will be in Mako’s room and we’ll set up the couch for his brother. Same goes for their sister when she gets here.”

“So who’s going to get stuck in my room?” muttered Chuck with a look.

“Jake if he ends up spending the night. Is that acceptable?” asked Stacker.

“I’ll deal with it,” Chuck replied. “Better than getting a Becket.”

As Herc stood up to wash his plate, he said, “You’re going to have to deal with them eventually.”

“Don’t make me think of Mako and Raleigh as a long term thing,” groaned Chuck.

“Well at least the others. You mentioned not minding Jazmine right?” asked Herc.

“Yeah. I didn’t mind her for the five minutes I talked to her,” muttered Chuck. “Doesn’t mean I gotta like any of them.”

“Yancy then. You never know.”

Stacker lifted his cup of coffee to that.

“In your dreams,” Chuck sighed. He quickly got up and placed his dishes next to where his father was cleaning them. “I’m gonna go find the god damn air mattress before you two get any more ideas.”

That day was largely spent prepping things and going to the door for last minute ingredients. Even back when mom had been alive, their family had never been overly festive with Christmas and growing up with Stacker hadn’t been much different. The main thing was making up that office for his aunts and making sure all the sheets were cleaned in advance when the others came.

They went to the store around midday to grab the remaining items they’d need for Christmas dinner and got a few more in preparation for New Year’s Eve. They probably looked like an interesting group what with Chuck and his dad dressed up like they were prepared for the next ice age. Fuck the cold. The only good out of it was that it proved to Chuck how much his dad actually cared about Stacker. Hell if he was willing to deal with this on a seasonal basis he had to love the man.

Once they were back, Chuck made sure to take Max for a quick walk before settling in on his project. He was able to focus for the most part, absentmindedly scratching Max behind the ears when he got lost in thought. The only thing that pulled him out of it was his phone suddenly beeping. He rolled over and snatched it off his bedside table to find a text from Mako.

_Clothes or a book?_

Chuck frowned in confusion.

_What?_

_I’m buying your presents for Raleigh’s family. I’m having trouble with Yancy’s present.  
Would you prefer to give him clothes or a book?_

_Neither  
And why don’t you ask him anyways?_

_He told me not to bother with it._

_Then don’t._

_But I don’t wish for him to be left out._

_Then get him something!_

_I am trying._

Chuck could practically feel the emphasis on each word like Mako was right there glaring at him.

_So you mean this is more of a joint present?_

_I’m trying to be nice. Will you at least give me a direction to look?_

_Fine!_  
Book!  
How is that?

_Fine.  
Thank you. I’ll see you in two days._

He rolled his eyes at that before returning back to his laptop. At about dinner time he went back down and spent the next three hours with his dad and Stacker before going back to his homework and finally drifting into a much needed sleep.

The next day he got approximately three hours that morning before being bombarded with his aunts’ presence.

Despite the moments in his childhood where he’d adamantly yelled something like, I don’t want to be in your family, or something equally awful, he’d always liked Luna despite the problems with Stacker. When he’d finally called her Aunt Luna it hadn’t felt forced either. She really was there for him when he was growing up, Mako too. And she was definitely the fun Aunt by far. It was amazing how her and Stacker were related at all, though Chuck could easily see how Stacker and Tamsin had become good friends.

Tamsin was definitely the no nonsense aunt. Though if Luna was around, she always seemed unable to say no to whatever crazy plan she had. Even Stacker found it hard to deny his sister sometimes.

Chuck hadn’t seen Luna for a while despite talking with her regularly and it was kind of shocking what a relief it was to see her on her feet again. It had been about a year since the accident and though the cane was still there, she was finally moving around freely again. She was one of the best fighter pilots the world had ever seen, still was, but even then she couldn’t predict everything. If anything, it was only because of her skills that she hadn’t been killed outright and had managed to get out of the crash period.

After making sure to give Max a warm welcome and then Chuck, Luna asked, “Where’s your sister at?”

“She’ll be here tomorrow.”

“And will Jake be here this year?”

Stacker nodded.

“Good, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the kid,” Luna replied before moving in to hug her brother and Herc.

Tamsin shot Chuck a kind smile and clapped him on his back. “Glad you could make it.”

Chuck simply nodded, everyone’s attention going to Luna as she exclaimed, “Where the hell is the tree?”

“We’ve got lights outside,” Herc responded with a small shrug.

Luna slammed her cane against the ground though and shook her head. “No way. You can’t have Christmas without a tree. Come on. Family exercise.”

“I figured,” Stacker tried, “we could do lunch first and then perhaps—”

“We’ve got three days until Christmas Eve, you don’t have a tree up, and you expect us to eat?” asked Luna in horror. It might have been more mocking horror but it was honestly hard to tell. Her wife let out a tired sigh as she covered her face with her hand though Chuck managed to catch the image of a fond smile slipping out. “No time to waste,” Luna continued, “so get your asses into gear or do you expect the cripple to do this all on her own?”

Stacker shot Herc a look who shrugged and went, “She’s your sister,” just as Chuck moved passed them all and added, “Come on guys, where’s your Christmas spirit?”

“Yeah? Where has yours been?” chuckled Herc. “You hate putting up the tree.”

“You know I can’t say no to Aunt Luna,” grinned Chuck before turning to Luna. “And let’s be honest here. If we don’t do anything you’ll drag it all out on your own.”

“Damn right.”

Tamsin, Herc, and Stacker simply rolled their eyes but it was clear they were already giving in. No one could really say no to Luna no matter how hard they tried.

Herc and Stacker dragged out the box as Tamsin and Chuck got the containers with the Christmas decorations down. Luna acted as the commander, directing everyone in the best placement of the materials with her cane as she sat down for most of it, only finally getting up to help with the last few decorations.

She grinned happily as she stood up and leaned back on her cane to get a better look at the tree.

“Now lunch?” asked Stacker.

“Of course.”

They finally went to the kitchen as Herc grabbed some glasses and Stacker finished whipping up some lunch. Chuck grabbed the plates as Tamsin and Luna sat down. Herc moved to help Stacker but the man quickly held up a spoon to stop him.

“Don’t.”

“I’ve gotten better,” defended Herc.

“Hey, if we need something grilled, we’ll ask,” Chuck laughed as he started cracking open the beers and pouring them for everyone. “You heard the man. Back away from the food.”

Raising his hands in surrender, Herc sat down as questions went back and forth as everyone caught up. Especially with Chuck as Tamsin and Luna asked about college and how California was. Eventually Luna also asked, “So do we finally get to meet that boy Mako’s been dating.”

“You’ll get to meet the whole family,” grumbled Chuck.

“Oh? Kids and parents?” asked Tamsin.

Herc shook his head. “They’re orphans.”

That had Chuck’s eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

“Actually knew his father for a bit. They liked to travel a lot and he was a pretty well sought after engineer. Came to Australia where I just happened to run into the parents and Yancy. Mrs. Lapierre-Becket was pregnant with Raleigh at the time,” replied Herc.

“Wait, so you’ve known them for a while?” asked Luna. Chuck was glad she’d asked it. If he had, he probably would have gotten hit over the head and told to pay attention more often. He honestly didn’t know this story, though granted he wouldn’t have been born yet anyways.

“No, we didn’t really keep in touch. It was pure chance that I recognized Yancy’s name when I was in the Middle East and our paths just happened to cross.”

“And apparently pure chance I went to the same school as his brother,” groaned Chuck. He had to admit that was one hell of a coincidence. Maybe he should have paid a bit more attention in regards to the Beckets. And orphans…Raleigh hadn’t ever mentioned parents now that he thought about it but then, Chuck didn’t really talk about his dad or Stacker in front of Raleigh either. How was he to know?

“How did you find out they were orphans?” asked Tamsin.

“Yancy just told me. He actually remembered me and Angela a bit, though just barely, and we had the chance to catch up when we met again,” Herc responded. “Their mother passed away from cancer and I suppose that just pushed their father over the edge. Became a drunk, lost his job, eventually left when Yancy was seventeen.”

Chuck blinked, again thrown by the new information.

“What a bastard. It’s nice of you to invite them over though. I look forward to meeting both of them,” Luna said.

“Their sister’s coming too. Christmas Eve is when her plane lands, I believe,” Stacker added.

“A full house then,” grinned Luna. She quickly turned to Tamsin and added, “We’re going to need to do extra Christmas shopping for them.”

Herc put up his hand. “I’m sure you don’t—”

“Nonsense. We’ll do it tonight,” grinned Luna.

Tamsin shrugged. “Why not? It’s a nice enough idea.” She looked to Chuck. “You know what they like?”

“You realize I don’t like the Beckets, right? I don’t know,” grumbled Chuck.

“Raleigh’s in the criminology curriculum and likes plants,” Herc replied. “The sister, Jazmine, is a studying biochemist.”

“How is it that you know this and I don’t?” asked Chuck.

“Because unlike you, I can hold a conversation with the kid,” Herc shot back. “And I’ve talked with Yancy. Remember?”

“Whatever. You guys talk about the Beckets as much as you want. I’m heading upstairs to work on my project,” Chuck sighed.

He was glad no one tried to stop him and took the stairs two at a time. The moment his door was closed behind him he collapsed on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as he mentally rubbed his mind clean of the Beckets. He hated admitting he was wrong. That was a thought that had been engrained in him forever. The fact that his first meeting with Raleigh had been a fight and that he didn’t think him good enough to be Mako’s friend, and sure as hell not a boyfriend, hadn’t exactly placed them on a beautiful path towards friendship.

Sure, he probably could have amended things a bit better rather than fueling the rivalry but it would be an outright lie if he said his emotions didn’t run him at least part of the time. He still didn’t think Raleigh was good enough for Mako, probably would never change his mind on that, but at the very least he had to acknowledge he’d have to spend the next few days with the Beckets. Possibly over a week or two if they all stayed through New Year’s Eve.

At the very least he could try to be civil to Yancy and Jazmine then. Didn’t mean he wanted to but he again thought of last year’s Christmas and decided he definitely didn’t want to be the cause of any altercation. And then he thought of the fact that they were orphans…losing his own mom had been hard enough and though things hadn’t always been perfect with his dad he couldn’t imagine losing him right after her. And then if he’d never had Stacker in his life…he supposed anyone deserved to have a fight free Christmas in that regard.

With a sigh, he texted Mako before getting into his project. It didn’t take long until she replied.

_We should be home around four._

Well at least he had the morning to prepare for not being an ass. With a sigh, he texted back thanks and focused back on his project until dinner and then went back to his room until he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally we get Yancy! The fact that the original version of this fic started at about this place just shows how much more work I'm trying to put into this. I am going to stick with updates once a week and it will remain 10 chapters so this fic will be done on Dec. 11th, just in time for the Holidays. Now that most of the build-up and backstory has been established, let's get into the meat of the story and find out why it's called Mistletoe! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy <3

Perhaps Chuck should have asked a bit more about Yancy Becket and the accident rather than just letting himself remain in the dark.

“Stop staring,” Mako said as she hit him in the side.

“I’m not,” Chuck hissed back, looking away before either brother could notice. However, his eyes started to move back again. He recalled when Luna had been recovering and how she now sported a permanent limp. But Yancy…he had two crutches and was still being almost fully supported by his brother. His right leg was twisted somewhat, making it all the harder for him to walk and it was clear he probably should have been in a wheelchair, not that they had room for it.

Though Chuck had been in California, he knew Luna had managed to get back on her feet after a few months. From what information he’d gathered, half a year had passed and this was the best that Yancy could do.

Despite how clearly out of breath he was, Yancy waved his brother away with a tired smile when he started to ask him something. There was a tremor in his right hand, couldn’t completely keep it still but Chuck couldn’t see any scars. Granted, the sweater did a good job of covering anything up.

Chuck sharply flinched at the painful jab he got in his side.

“I said stop it.”

Chuck simply let out a grumble at his sister as Mako headed out again to grab the remaining bags. Raleigh asked something, probably again just double checking if his brother was alright before hurrying to help Mako as well as Herc who was out there. Stacker was in the kitchen while Luna and Tamsin were out in the city.

It gave Chuck a brief moment of solitude with the elder Becket as his eyes moved back to him again. Yancy twisted around on the couch with a slight smile as he seemed to have caught his breath.

“You must be Charlie. Mako’s told me a lot about you.”

“It’s Chuck. Only Mako and Stacker call me Charlie,” he replied, slowly moving closer.

“Right, I think your dad told me that,” Yancy said with a quick nod. Max waddled over and his attention momentarily left Chuck as he petted the happy bulldog.

So he didn’t immediately want to punch Yancy in the face. That was probably a good sign. He probably should have asked something more neutral but he was shit at small talk. Seeing how any remaining questions he had could probably be answered by this man best, he figured he might as well ask them. Walking out of the hall and leaning against the door frame for the living room, he asked, “So you’ve been in Italy all this time?”

“The one and only. Didn’t exactly get to see the sights though.”

Chuck quickly glanced behind him but the three of them were still outside and if he spoke soft enough, Stacker probably wouldn’t hear him either. He decided to just come out and ask. No beating around the bush. “How’d that happen?”

He wondered if Yancy would get upset. In a way, he was kind of going for some type of reaction, not to be a dick but more so he could get a better judge of character from the man. Yancy didn’t tense up at the question. Instead he smirked and said, “Explosion. And before you ask kid, wasn’t nothing glorious about it.”

“Doubted it would be,” Chuck said, having heard plenty of truths about war from his father and step-father. He decided to keep to a more neutral tone rather than grumbling at the guy though. He certainly wasn’t quite the stick in the mud he’d expected. “And I’m twenty-one one by the way.”

“Ah, you’re still young,” chuckled Yancy. “Kid still applies.”

“What? And you’re not? You don’t even look thirty.”

“Close enough. Twenty-nine though my bones make me feel like I’m ninety-two,” Yancy replied.

Over all, he seemed to still have some pretty good humor over the entire thing and his smile didn’t waver in the slightest. The chipper nature kind of got under Chuck’s skin (because of course there was something he had to get annoyed with) but it was better than immediately wanting to fight him.

“Must hate this weather then,” Chuck commented.

Yancy nodded. “Shame really. I used to love playing in the snow as a kid.”

Chuck made a face.

“Oh come on. You don’t?”

“Australia’s in my blood. Doesn’t matter how long I’ve lived here.”

“But winter is amazing!”

“It fucking sucks is what it is.”

“What about hot coco and getting to sit by a fireplace?”

“Still doesn’t keep my feet from freezing off.”

“Then put them under a blanket or shove them under someone,” grinned Yancy.

“No need for that when it feels perfectly fine outside.”

“You’re pretty pragmatic. Aren’t you?”

“If it’s warm outside, you don’t gotta buy firewood and you don’t need extra shit to stay warm,” Chuck replied. “Simple as that.”

“I think you’re missing the point.”

Perhaps if Raleigh had said that, Chuck would have been at his throat. Already he felt more at ease though and he instead just rolled his eyes. “Saving money is the point.”

Yancy looked like he was ready to argue when Chuck heard everyone coming into the living room. He hadn’t quite realized it but he was leaning against the couch now, having moved across the room while verbally sparring with the older Becket.

He noted that Luna and Tamsin had come back from the city and had trapped Mako and Raleigh at the bottom of the stairs where they’d just come from putting everything away. Herc passed them to go into the kitchen, Max deciding to follow just as Luna limped forward with a grin after greeting her niece.

“Only room enough for one cripple in this house.” Out of the corner of Chuck’s eyes, he spotted how Raleigh was suddenly tensing up and even his father’s and Stacker’s heads came around the corner at catching ear of her comment.

Nevertheless, Yancy seemed only to ready to reply. “Yeah? Guess we’ll just have to battle it out.”

“You choose the trial?”

“We can race down the street.”

“I think I’ve got an unfair advantage.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“Tomorrow at 12.”

“You’re on.”

Luna pointed her cane at him with a grin. “It’s a deal. Luna Pentecost.”

“Yancy Becket,” he replied.

“I like you kid. Got a good sense of humor.”

Chuck laughed at that, the reason for his response unknown except to Yancy who cracked a smile in return.

Everyone seemed to relax a bit after that, Mako putting a comforting arm on Raleigh’s shoulder as Luna headed into the kitchen to ask, “What wonderful creation are you making now brother?”

“Apologies for my wife,” Tamsin said as she followed. “She’s not the most coy.”

“Not a problem,” replied Yancy. “Besides, I’m sure everyone’s curious as to what two cripples racing would look like.”

“Oh god, are you going to be as bad as her?” asked Tamsin.

“Not that bad.”

“Good. Because she was somewhat right. We do only have room for one Luna Pentecost in this home.”

Yancy laughed again as Tamsin moved into the kitchen, quickly followed by Max at the smell of food. Raleigh drew closer, his face showing the conflict he was feeling. “Yancy I’m sorry—”

“Come on kid, admit it. You’d get a kick out of seeing me and her struggling in the snow.”

Raleigh’s face clearly said he wouldn’t. It seemed Yancy’s joke kept him from commenting further though as he instead asked, “Do you need help getting—”

“You two head into the kitchen. I’ll be right behind you,” Yancy assured.

“I can help—”

“No need.” Yancy picked up a crutch and poked it at his brother. “Get.”

Before Raleigh could argue further, Mako was gently guiding him away with a slight smile and a kind whisper in his ear. It was interesting for Chuck to watch and he wondered if Yancy and Raleigh were on the best of terms at the moment or not. Raleigh certainly seemed pushy about all this and more on edge than Yancy was. And Yancy was the one that could barely walk!

“I’m not going to get my hopes up but please, tell me there’s someone else who gets just as annoyed with Raleigh as me,” Chuck muttered as he leaned over.

“What? No…well maybe a little,” Yancy sighed. “He’s just trying to be helpful.”

As Yancy seemed to choose that moment to push himself up, Chuck quickly straightened as well. “Do you—”

“Don’t even think about it kid. And you were doing so well,” chuckled Yancy. “I think I can handle a walk from the living room to the kitchen.”

Chuck shrugged. He supposed that if he was in that situation, he’d try to exert his own freedom at any chance he got. Still, he watched carefully, moving behind him just in case. When his eyes caught the slight give in one of his knees, Chuck took the chance to grab the eldest Becket before he could hit the floor.

Raleigh’s eyes found them first like he’d remained staring at the opening, waiting for his brother to show again. He seemed to be the only one who noted that Chuck was somewhat supporting Yancy now, a sigh escaping his lips.

“For the record,” grumbled Chuck, “asking for help isn’t—”

Wait what…

_What?!_

“What the hell!” yelled Chuck as he sharply pulled away. Nevertheless, he still just barely kept a hold of Yancy no matter how much he suddenly wanted to just drop him to the ground and give him a good kick. If only Raleigh had noticed them before, well now everyone was looking.

Luna let out a large cheer. “Already bagged one! Yes!”

“What—”

“Mistletoe,” Yancy replied as he gave a quick gesture upwards.

Chuck looked up before shooting a glare across the room. “Aunt Luna!”

She let out another laugh as Chuck let out an irritated sigh. It was getting increasingly hard keeping his cheeks from going red as he opted to still help Yancy to a chair. Raleigh’s wrath at him abandoning his brother and the fight that would likely ensue kept him from just letting go of Yancy. Besides, he wasn’t that cruel to let a guy that could barely walk struggle on his own but he still rather unceremoniously dropped him once near the table, allowing Yancy to somewhat fall into the chair.

Raleigh’s eyes narrowed but Yancy’s smile didn’t waver as he poked Chuck in the leg. “No hard feelings?”

“You’re on thin ice Becket,” Chuck warned.

“But thankfully still here,” grinned Yancy.

Chuck let out another grumble and muttered a quick ‘don’t’ to his father who quickly put his hands up and gave a look like, no of course he wasn’t going to say anything. Chuck honestly thought about getting out of there in that instant, making an excuse to go work on his project. The implications of getting to be alone wasn’t worth it though so he grabbed a beer instead and leaned against the countertop, well away from the Beckets.

He kept silent as everyone began to catch up. The subject of school went around and as time went by, Raleigh seemed to loosen up a bit. Raleigh had always been a bit of a stick in the mud but Chuck was starting to recall a lot more smiles and over all bubbling energy from him in the past. He glanced back over to Yancy. Was that because of him? Because of what had happened? Despite his better judgment, Chuck had to admit he was becoming intrigued. He kept from asking anything else however, figuring that despite how Raleigh had held himself back in regards to Luna’s comments, he probably wouldn’t make the same exception for Chuck.

Stacker continued to cook, Mako eventually getting back up to help him and Chuck pitching in as well. All three carefully slapped Herc’s hands away whenever he tried to help until he finally retired back to the dining table. The room was already full and then Jazmine and Jake were still yet to arrive…well at least they wouldn’t have to worry about making a roaring fire or anything. With how much body heat they were going to start producing, they would be fine.

Yancy seemed to be interjecting himself a lot in the conversation as no one seemed completely willing to ask him anything. At least except for Luna which always seemed to make Yancy relax more.

Eventually, Chuck was able to run back to his room without everyone getting suspicious about his reasoning with Max following behind. Of course, Mako asking if she could see what he had so far kind of ruined the point but Chuck just replied, “Why not?” before heading back upstairs. He hadn’t seen her in nearly a week and he did enjoy his time with Mako. He just knew this wouldn’t be done to purely catch up on missed time or anything like that.

At the very least she didn’t jump into whatever she wished to talk about. Instead he did get a chance to show her the current designs he had. Mako gave a few helpful comments that Chuck took note of as Max sat between them on the bed. Eventually the real reason for her following came through as she asked, “So what do you think of Yancy Becket?”

Knowing full well that Mako would get the details out of him one way or another, he decided it was best to just be upfront for the moment. “He’s not as bad as Raleigh but he’s damn near close.”

Mako’s eyes danced with amusement at that. “Well I’m glad you’re getting along with him.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it that. We had one conversation and then the bloody bastard kissed me,” grumbled Chuck.

“He does have an interesting sense of humor.”

“I’ll say.”

Mako smiled at that before nudging him with her shoulder. “Keep being nice. Keep being open.”

“As long as he’s not an utter dick-wait. What do you mean be open?”

“Raleigh has been very overprotective. I understand why. I believe Yancy does as well but it’s not all appreciated,” Mako replied.

“So be more like Aunt Luna.”

“If it helps,” chuckled Mako.

“You may want to mention that to Stacker then. I’m pretty sure he’s ready to tape his sister’s mouth shut.”

“Well, she does talk a lot. It wouldn’t be completely unfounded,” Mako said with a sly grin as she stood up. “Are you coming back down?”

“You know this wasn’t just an excuse. I actually do have to work on this. I’ve got three weeks left before the break ends and only one more  before it’s actually due.”

“Alright. As long as you’re not avoiding everyone on purpose.”

Chuck rolled his eyes, turning back to his project as the night went on. At one point he heard the sounds of people going back to their own rooms and after a moment chose to take Max outside one last time before he went to sleep.

He went out the front door and watched Max before ushering the dog back inside. As Max scampered upstairs, Chuck decided to grab a snack from the kitchen only to pause in his step, remembering that Yancy was sleeping downstairs. The couch had been pulled out and the man was sound asleep now, snoring softly with his crutches propped up on the side of the pullout bed. Chuck wondered if he’d get a chance to ask more about it, if he’d find out more about what was going on between Yancy and Raleigh as well.

Part of him could have cared less and part of him was still pissed about that kiss. But he had to admit, he already felt like he was on better footing with Yancy and he’d prefer to keep it that way if possible. Besides, he really wanted to avoid any actual outbursts this Christmas.

As he slowly went past him and grabbed something from the cabinets, little did Chuck know he’d have quite the outburst. It just wouldn’t have anything to do with the Beckets.


	4. Chapter 4

Chuck stretched with a slight groan, having slept oddly due to Max’s insistence on where he wished to sleep on the bed. He picked up his phone to look at the time, deciding he should probably get up and take Max out anyways. Once in the hall, he wasn’t surprised to see the doors to Mako’s and his father’s room open. He’d grown up in a house of early-birds after all.

He took Max out and then headed into the living room afterwards. He raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him as Raleigh tugged at the blankets.

“Yancy, it’s seven,” Raleigh insisted.

“Five more minutes,” the older Becket groaned as he pulled a pillow over his head.

“The doctors said—”

“I’ll be up just…urgh…just give me a minute,” grumbled Yancy as he pulled the blankets back over.

As Chuck walked by, he gave Raleigh a punch in the shoulder. “Let the whining pile of blankets rest. Something tells me the smell of coffee will wake him up.”

Raleigh looked resigned to agree but Yancy did somewhat perk up at that. “Make sure it’s not the weak shit,” he mumbled.

“Got it,” Chuck muttered, rolling his eyes as he walked into the kitchen.

It began normal enough. Once Yancy was finally up, though Chuck swore it took him about two more hours to stop regularly yawning, Herc put the couch back together and they had a rather late breakfast. Luna and Tamsin had some last minute shopping to do and somehow managed to drag Raleigh in on it, claiming they needed help in picking things out for his family while also just wanting to know him better. Chuck didn’t really care about the reasoning though. As long as he got some hours away from the guy, he was fine.

Stacker had something work related pop up meaning that by twelve, it left the house to Chuck, Mako, Herc, and Yancy.

“Alright Da, do you still watch those boring as shit home renovation shows?” Chuck asked with a smirk.

“You don’t have to watch with me,” chuckled Herc.

“What? And miss out on a tradition? No way,” Chuck replied. He glanced towards Mako and Yancy. It wasn’t uncommon for Mako and Stacker to join in on this but Yancy… “You too,” Chuck finally said. “Let’s see how sharp your tongue is.”

Chuck had meant it to simply try and include the older Becket in on the fun. Again, he wasn’t trying to be a complete dick and the guy did intrigue him. However, his wording choice wasn’t exactly well thought out as Yancy raised an eyebrow.

“I would have figured you knew how sharp my tongue was by now.”

“Alright! I am trying to be nice but don’t think I’m not afraid to kick your crippled ass!”

Yancy let out a loud laugh before Herc could even think of how to reprimand his son. “Fair enough. So what’s all this about some home renovation show?”

Chuck kept an eye on Yancy less to make sure he made it safely from the kitchen to the living room and more so to make sure the man really felt the glare he was trying to drill into the back of his skull. For good measure he gave him a little shove as they all gathered on the couch and Herc switched the TV on.

It was a game they liked to play since Chuck and Mako were younger. Herc actually enjoyed the programs but as children, Chuck and Mako had made their own commentary, their own stories and ideas and criticisms to make it more interesting. Now it was almost like a game, seeing who could do the funniest ideas or say the most outlandish things. Yancy caught on pretty quickly and of course now Herc would join in as well, more amused than annoyed.

After Yancy got out a good one and everyone let out a good laugh in return, the sound of the mail slot opening was heard. Chuck didn’t think anything of it as his father got up to get it. However, he did take note at the somewhat rushed motion when he went passed them again and went into the kitchen. Chuck wondered…

More than a few seconds passed. Something was off.

He got up as Mako was talking to Yancy and quickly followed after his father. From where he was, he couldn’t see the sender of the letter that his father had just torn open but he recognized the look on his face. It made Chuck’s heart freeze, made him want to puke as all those memories flew up again. It only took four long strides to move forward and snatch the letter from his father’s hands.

“Chuck you—”

One quick look and Chuck knew he was right. He spun around and headed back into the living room and threw the paper into the fire. Even as it caught the flame though, Chuck saw that one small word before it disappeared into smoke and ash. A word that had been thrown around last year as well. A word that couldn’t be believed. Not ever.

He punched the brick of the fireplace, anger practically brimming off him.

“Chuck I know—”

“No!” He yelled, interrupting his father as he spun back around, Mako’s and Yancy’s frozen forms completely forgotten. “I don’t care if he sends more! You burn every single one of them because like hell I’m going to let that bastard ruin another day in our goddamn lives! Don’t read a fucking word that bastard ever sends you Da! He doesn’t deserve a fucking second of your attention!”

Perhaps a more functional person wouldn’t have quite yelled all that, been a bit more coy and probably would have ended it all with a reassuring hug and a promise that it would be alright. Chuck just wasn’t that type of person though. Instead he grabbed Max’s lease that was hanging on the coat rack. If his father said anything more, he didn’t catch it, storming outside with Max at his side and quickly going down the street as he pulled his own coat on. Thankfully no car was pulling up so he didn’t have to deal with his aunts or Raleigh or Stacker, instead going straight to the sidewalk.

The wind was awful and the snow was making his bones ache. He focused on that feeling though, used it to push out the memories as he went down the streets and kept going even when he could barely feel his fingers anymore. He only paused in his step when he heard Max give a pitiful whine. It was the first thing that caused the tensed muscles in his shoulders to ease as he leaned down and hefted Max into his arms.

“Sorry boy. Didn’t mean to stay out here for so long,” mumbled Chuck as he turned around and started to head back.

It actually took him a moment to get his bearings, the area no longer as familiar due to nearly two years spent in California. He hadn’t realized just how far he’d walked, or just for how long as the sky grew darker.

He wasn’t surprised to see the cars parked in front. It had to have been getting close to five now as Chuck took a deep breath and walked inside. He didn’t bother looking towards the living room, towards whoever could possibly be in there. Placing Max carefully onto the floor, he all but ran up the stairs instead and went straight to his room. He expected to be alone. He expected to lie in his bed and to try and gain back some feeling in his toes and fingers while he thought of what to do.

Closing his door behind him though, he felt himself being practically assaulted with a harsh hug. He froze at the contact, the anger having disappeared to numbness now. As his arms slowly came up, he remembered that he and his father weren’t the only ones hurting. Sure, Stacker had never liked him but Mako had grown up with him too. And when the truth had been yelled out by Herc last Christmas, Chuck hadn’t been the only disgusted and shocked and hurting.

His arms slowly moved up and hugged Mako as he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

“This is what I wanted to avoid. This is exactly why—”

“知らぬが仏,” murmured Mako.

Chuck was better at listening to Japanese rather than saying it but he mustered up what he remembered of it and responded in kind. “私は決して知らなかったことを望む.”

“As do I,” Mako replied.

They broke apart upon hearing the door open only to see Herc come in, his face tired and his shoulders low. His expression said it all. It spelled out the pain and anger and the wish that he’d never known just as much as them. Chuck almost yelled again. He just wanted to start yelling and never stop but a quick tug from Mako changed that and the three pulled together in a hug instead.

Chuck wasn’t much for physical contact but it was better than trying to talk it out. It was easier feeling his father’s and sister’s heartbeats, feeling the slight tremble as they breathed uneasily. It got across a lot more than words could and when they finally parted, it was like an entire conversation had passed between them.

Still, there were details that had to be vocally shared. Herc let out a tired sigh and murmured, “He’s still in Australia. Won’t be able to leave for another five years if he doesn’t want the full force of the law after him.”

Chuck’s throat caught. “You didn’t—”

“No. Stacker just looked up some things, called a few people to make sure he was where he needed to be,” Herc said. He took another deep breath before placing either hand at the back of Mako’s and Chuck’s necks. “We’re gonna have a good Christmas. Alright?”

“Aunt Luna and Tamsin?”

“No need to tell them things that are only going to make them upset. Besides, he can’t hurt us. Not here,” Herc said with a stiff nod.

So Stacker knew, because of course he would, and they’d be keeping it from Luna and Tamsin. There was no point in telling Raleigh but—

His mind quickly went back to Yancy. He didn’t often feel guilty. Usually if he did something wrong, if he ever admitted to it, he shrugged it off and moved on. But thinking about his outburst and then just leaving and Yancy being there unable to really leave the situation and having no idea what was going on…Chuck doubted it was the kind of rest and relaxation that his doctors would want for him.

“Did you…explain it? To Yancy that is,” Chuck asked.

“Enough so he didn’t think this was some kind of warped family tradition,” his dad replied, trying for humor despite how it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Chuck simply nodded as he decided not to explain why he’d asked. Instead, he muttered, “I’m going to skip out on dinner if you don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?” Mako asked.

“You can say I’m afraid of getting caught under the mistletoe again for all I care,” grumbled Chuck. “Just…really don’t wanna deal with them right now.”

“I’ll have Stacker save something for you,” Herc promised before pulling Chuck into a hug again. Mako left after him, finally giving Chuck the moment of silence he’d hoped for.

He didn’t need it as desperately now but it did give him time to go and check out his hand. He was usually pretty good at giving a solid punch and coming back with no injuries. Of course, brick walls were less forgiving than the toughest opponents and Chuck hadn’t exactly been thinking about how he should properly clench his fist before he’d just gone for it.

After cleaning the torn skin and putting on two Band-Aids, Chuck tried to focus on homework. Usually he found the act of design calming but tonight he couldn’t bring himself to focus. He lay in bed for a long while, simply warming his feet and hands and only getting up to let Max in when he’d started pawing at the door. It wasn’t that he was brooding on the past. He wasn’t lost in stained memories or thinking about last Christmas.

His mind was occupied though. Occupied by Yancy Becket and just thinking about what the afternoon had been like for him. Uncomfortable, perhaps even painful being unable to leave such a toxic situation, being helpless. Maybe Chuck was thinking to deeply about it. Perhaps Yancy had listened to his father and then bounced immediately back. But he still felt-no he needed to apologize.

It took far too damn long, just sitting and waiting for everyone to retire to their rooms. When he was sure everyone had though, he went down under the guise of getting some leftovers and in all honesty, he was starving. He wondered if he’d have to wake up Yancy but as he walked into the living room, he saw that Yancy was awake and reading on a kindle.

“Hey,” Yancy slowly said when he caught sight of him. He placed his kindle to the side as Chuck gave him a quick nod and crossed the room, deciding to grab food first. Looking through the fridge, there was a wrapped up container that he chose to throw in the microwave. As he pressed a time and then start, he heard Yancy ask, “So how is that last minute essay going?”

Chuck frowned. Walking back towards the door frame. “What?”

“You know, if you’re family is going to lie, you might as well make sure you all have the same story,” chuckled Yancy.

“Oh. Right,” muttered Chuck, suddenly remembering. He looked away, scratching his cheek before asking, “You need anything?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

Chuck nodded as he went back towards the fridge and grabbed a beer. He didn’t immediately see a bottle opener so he walked back around the counter. He used the edge to pop off the cap before taking a swig. He felt the eyes on him as he did so, and when he glanced through the doorway, Yancy didn’t try to hide his staring in the slightest.

“Impressive.”

Chuck rolled his eyes at that. The stare was uncomfortable but…not. It was weird and he didn’t like it so he looked elsewhere as he replied. “Lotta chipped counters and broken bottles before I could do that,” he replied just as the microwave went off. He walked over, carefully getting it out and then spilling the contents onto a plate. As he grabbed that and the beer, he wondered exactly how he was going to approach this. Just say sorry and run? He wasn’t sure but then, he didn’t really have to worry as he walked back into the living room.

“Wanna watch something?” asked Yancy.

“What about your book?”

“It was dull anyways,” Yancy said as he turned the TV on. “Isn’t too late, is it?”

Chuck shrugged, only hesitating again when he thought of where he should sit but Yancy just patted the area next to him on the made up couch.

“Don’t worry, no mistletoe above us.”

Chuck rolled his eyes at that and sat down in a huff. Yancy flipped through the channels, asking a few questions about what movies Chuck preferred. Most of the time he shrugged at or made a face at the suggestions, at least until he spotted _Enemy Mine_ playing on some sci-fi channel. It was the middle of the movie, not that Chuck minded. He’d seen it a hundred times.

“Really? This old thing?” asked Yancy.

“We can change it if you want.”

“No, it’s fine. Just…interesting choice,” Yancy responded.

They both turned to focus on the movie and though Yancy had no idea what it was about, he started to get pretty interested ten minutes in. Chuck took the time to explain the first half of the movie in between the silent moments and by the end, Yancy was dramatically wiping a fake tear away. “I think I’m going to cry.”

Chuck rolled his eyes and gave him a little shove. He downed the rest of his beer, setting that to the side with the plate as well. He couldn’t believe that he was actually enjoying this. Yet there was still more that needed to be discussed. He hadn’t come down here to just joke and have a good time.

“I’m sorry.”

Chuck blinked. It was the words he’d intended to say and yet…Yancy had said them first. It took him a moment to compose himself before he finally asked, “Why?”

“You just…whatever that was about it…it wasn’t good. That much was obvious,” Yancy said with a small shrug. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

He tried to think of something more to say, thought about the planned apology but nothing was really coming to mind. He just gave a small nod, eyes focusing back on the TV. The film was being replayed and they both watched it in silence for a moment as Yancy got a chance to see the first half. He let out a small whistle.

“Talk about character development.”

Chuck gave a half laugh at that. He kept watching, remained silent until they managed to get back to the part where they’d began the movie at. Despite it being a favorite film of his, he’d really been more focused on thinking about the man next to him instead. Thinking about how he’d apologized, given his condolences despite not knowing. Chuck didn’t want him to know. Didn’t want to sully this-whatever this was-with that information. And yet some small, self-deprecating part of him just wanted to throw the information at Yancy and hope that it pushed him away. It would make this all so much easier and he’d be comforted by the idea that friendship with a Becket was just as ridiculous as it sounded.

He thought about doing that but it was a different reason altogether that made the words slip out. He was tired of holding it in and he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it with his father, with Mako. He didn’t want to bring up those memories for them but Yancy…there was no prior relationship that had been sullied with him. The words slipped out, pained and soft as the movie played on in the background but Yancy heard them all the same.

Glancing over, he watched as Yancy’s expression froze, his eyes went wide. Perhaps if he was trying to disgust Yancy, Chuck would have waited for his response. But that wasn’t why he was doing it. Now that the anger was bubbling forth again, he needed to let it out and he did.

“He was in jail for three years,” Chuck got out, his knuckles turning white with how tightly he was clenching his fists. “I didn’t know. He lived in Australia, didn’t get to see him too much anyways. Da said he was just busy with a job. That was all.

“Then we got a Christmas card from him last year. It was all full of apologies and half-assed excuses. I didn’t understand about what. At the time, I didn’t even notice how my father was hurting. I didn’t see the anger in Stacker’s eyes I just…just shouted and yelled and demanded to be told why the hell Uncle Scott hadn’t visited and what the fuck he was apologizing about.

“It’s stupid. Isn’t it? It’s not like we’re the damn victims. But he…he took Mako and I for ice cream whenever he was in the UK. He made me laugh even when I was fighting with Da. I wanted to be like him! I god damn said that and now…now that just makes me want to puke. I love Australia. It’s where my mum’s buried. It’s where nearly half my childhood was,” whispered Chuck. “And now I can’t bring myself to ever go back while that prick’s alive.”

He trailed off there. That last part, especially that, he’d never said to anyone. He’d never admitted how he couldn’t bring himself to go back to his homeland because of it.

“Is that why you went to California?”

Chuck frowned at the question. It took him a moment to understand what Yancy was getting at. “What? No, no I was going to school there for about a year before I found out,” he murmured. “But…there are things there that remind me of Australia without…that.” He shook his head and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that earlier. I wasn’t really thinking.”

“I don’t blame you. Just from what you’ve told me makes me want to beat the shit out of him,” Yancy muttered. “And just three years…”

“She was too afraid to press charges herself. My Da had to,” replied Chuck. “He uh…he was there. At a bar. Uncle Scott had apparently been gone to long and he went looking and he found…there was a fight and Da just barely got away, managed to get the woman and took her straight to a hospital and called the police. Other…other victims came forward but their testimonies didn’t have as much weight without evidence. That and apparently being a model enough prisoner got him off on parole.”

Chuck closed his eyes. That last story he probably shouldn’t have been told but his father had yelled it at him in anger and pain without thinking. Chuck thought about what that must have been like. Nearly being beaten to death by his brother. It made all that food that he’d just eaten want to come back up.

With a sigh, he opened his eyes just as he felt the arms come around him.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s called a hug idiot.”

“Not a kiss?” snorted Chuck.

“Well there isn’t any mistletoe above us but if you insist…”

“Not a chance,” Chuck muttered as he nudged Yancy off. Still, a small smile had started to appear on his lips at that. “Sorry for dragging you into all this.”

“It’s…horrendous,” Yancy said, his own smile dropping as he turned to honesty. “I would have been perfectly happy never hearing about it, that’s for sure. But I’m glad you told me. It’s good to just let it out sometimes and feel free to come and rant to me if you ever need to.”

“You…actually mean that.”

“Of course. Being alone with your thoughts isn’t always the best thing. Besides, if you ever do need to just rant, I can’t run anywhere.”

Chuck laughed at that, a good hard laugh that brought about a brilliant smile from Yancy. “Thanks for listening then.”

“No need. Besides, it was fun watching this movie together. We should do it again.”

“Uh, yeah. Why not?” Chuck replied as he gathered his dishes. Taking the words as his cue to leave, he cleaned up in the kitchen and then came back out, pointing towards the lights. “Need me to turn those off?”

“Sure. Thanks. See you in the morning Chuck.”

“Night,” Chuck replied as he headed up stairs and went straight to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chuck still felt emotionally drained from yesterday but it felt better to be around people rather than sticking to his room like he had most of yesterday afternoon. He stuck with what his father had apparently told them, just some school things he’d forgotten about. He was lucky Raleigh had a different enough major that there was no way he could have spotted the lie. Yancy had been an unexpected relief, someone he’d found he could just talk to. That didn’t mean the same courtesy was held for his brother though.

Still, the day started normal enough and besides a few kind looks from Mako and a private moment with his father and Stacker, the holidays were back in full swing. It was Christmas Eve now and Jazmine’s flight was supposed to arrive by one. Raleigh and Mako were planning on picking her up while Stacker began prepping the final parts of Christmas dinner. Luna and Tamsin were helping too. Herc was allowed to grab utensils and bowls but so far they’d kept him away from the food leading him to sigh and roll his eyes constantly.

Chuck expected Yancy to go with Raleigh and Mako to pick up his sister but he didn’t. He was even more surprised when Yancy instead asked him if he could follow him to the city. Chuck shrugged and said sure but he was still a bit confused. He straight up asked Yancy once they were in the car, borrowed from his dad, and driving through the snowy streets.

“You that annoyed with your brother?” asked Chuck, falling back on their first conversation.

“I don’t hate him.”

“Didn’t say you did this time,” Chuck replied. “I just would’ve thought you’d be running to see your sister again. Haven’t seen her in a while, have you?”

“Sort of. I just…it would have been a long car ride,” said Yancy.

“You realize we’ll probably be out longer than them, right?”

Yancy shrugged.

“Alright, I have to know what is going on with you and your brother,” muttered Chuck. “So far all you’ve done is confuse me more.”

“He just…he’s overprotective. You know? In anything and everything I do.”

“Not used to it because you’re the big brother?”

“Sort of,” Yancy said again. “He just walks around me like I’ll break if he isn’t careful. I like that you joke with me. That you’re not afraid to just directly ask me something. Same goes for Luna.”

“Mako said something along those lines.”

“She did?”

Chuck nodded. “I think she’s figured out the issue between you two without having to hear a word of it. Talk to her. She might be able to act as a mediator between you and Raleigh.”

“Not you?”

“I wouldn’t be a good mediator. I’d be more likely to sock Raleigh in the jaw.”

Yancy actually laughed at that. “He told me the story you know. Him and Mako. You can get quite a temper can’t you?”

Chuck simply let out an unintelligible grumble as he continued to drive, Yancy grinning at his side. Traffic was understandably packed and in hindsight, Chuck probably should have made sure he had everything Christmas-wise prepared. He did have his presents for his father and Stacker already wrapped. Simple things that were useful but far more appreciated than some pointless bobble. He’d gotten Mako some new hand wraps for her boxing and a staff for her martial arts. Luna he’d gotten a bottle of whiskey that couldn’t be found in the UK that he recalled her mentioning from some past trip to the US. He’d just barely forgotten Tamsin’s but hopefully they’d have that book she’d mentioned wanting a few times and since he hadn’t known Jake would be joining them until a few days ago, he could hardly be blamed for not having gotten the kid anything.

Getting presents was definitely the vocal reason but he also had just needed a good one to get out of the house. Again, he felt better than yesterday but he still needed a quick break from everyone and going into the city seemed like the perfect plan. He hadn’t expected Yancy to come along but despite the older man’s teasing, he found he honestly wasn’t minding the company.

Once they were in the mall, Chuck walked over and quickly grabbed a wheelchair. He was lucky he got it as it seemed to be one of the last ones and all of the electric ones were gone. As he wheeled it over, he gave a pointed look at Yancy.

“This isn’t me trying to put you down or baby you or anything,” Chuck stressed. “I just think it’ll look less strange than me dragging you around by one of your feet.”

“Fair enough,” laughed Yancy as he collapsed into the chair. The walk from the lot to indoors had been hard enough on him, made clear by his heavy breathing. “What if they hadn’t had any left?”

“Didn’t you hear me the first time? I’d have dragged you behind me by your foot,” replied Chuck as he started to push Yancy along. “You need anything from here?”

“Nope. Just following your lead.”

“Great, you can take the place of my cart then.”

Yancy laughed and Chuck found that he couldn’t hide his own smile. It was a bit easier letting it show though as Yancy didn’t see it.

Due to the time they’d gotten there, most people were crowding the food courts leaving at least a little more room in the stores. Chuck went straight to the two bookshops and managed to find what he needed for Tamsin. Jake was a bit harder. Again, he hadn’t ever been super close to his step-brother and considering what had happened when they were younger…

He was actually trying to get Yancy’s opinion on what to get the kid after explaining why they weren’t super close. However Yancy interrupted when he asked, “What exactly did happen between you and the kid?”

“Well…we were trying to do this family outing. Stacker’s ex was there and so was my dad. Awkward isn’t a strong enough word for what that was,” Chuck said, pausing to let Yancy’s laugh subside. “Anyways, Jake ended up getting angry about something and accused Stacker of loving Mako more than him. He was like nine. I was fourteen. Things weren’t perfect with Stacker at that point, we still had plenty of fights but I was already pretty protective of Mako and I straight up said ‘well of course he loves Mako more; she actually lives with him’.”

“Holy shit! You said that to a nine year old!”

“I was fourteen, alright?! It’s not like commonsense was my forte at that age.”

“What did he do?”

“He broke my nose and then burst into tears.”

“Wait, the nine year old broke _your_ nose?”

“Don’t rub it in.”

“Ha! Is this going to be your first time seeing him since then?”

“Hell no. Christ that would be bloody awkward,” grumbled Chuck. “No but it has been about a year and a half. I mean, I’ve gotten updates from Stacker and my Da since I’ve been at college but we’re still not exactly the closest.”

“Well I was present for both Raleigh’s and Jazmine’s teen years. I’ve got some pretty good ideas on what a sixteen year old would like.”

“I’m not sure I trust you on that one but hell, you’re my best option at the moment,” Chuck replied. “Where to first?”

They went to several places, toy and game stores, and places centered around movies and themed clothing. They went into a few weapons and exercise shops as well, trying to think of all the things Stacker had promoted for Chuck and Mako when growing up.

What he ended up with was a rather odd amalgamation of a Christmas present but hell, the kid had to end up liking something in there.

“Well I think that’s all the bases covered. Wanna get something to eat?” asked Chuck.

“What about Stacker? I thought he was off in the kitchen.”

“Yeah, that’s for actual Christmas. Christmas Eve we typically just munch on some snacks or whatever and play a game or watch a film.”

“Food sounds great then.”

They moved over to the only somewhat less packed food court. About ten minutes later they were finally sitting down, the bags having been momentarily moved from Yancy’s lap to the floor. As they talked and ate, Chuck’s phone rang and he answered it without glancing at the name.

“Yeah?”

“Is Yancy with you?”

Raleigh. Urgh. Why the hell was he calling him? He glanced to the man in front of him who now had a questioning look about him. “No.”

“Wait. Are you sure?! He isn’t answering his phone and Herc thought he left with you but—”

“Christ, he’s right here Raleigh. Don’t have a god damn heart attack,” grumbled Chuck. He was sure Raleigh was probably yelling a few choice things at him but before he could catch any of them he passed the phone over to Yancy.

Chuck waited, watching the one-sided conversation curiously. From what he gathered, Raleigh was yelling at Yancy for apparently having his phone on silent and possibly over exerting himself. Yancy was remaining calm but Chuck could tell the pushiness was getting on his nerves. His face only really perked up when something was said and Yancy replied, “Hey Jaz! Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon to give you the biggest damn hug of all time.”

A few more words passed between them before Yancy ended the call and slid it back over. Chuck quickly pocketed it and gave him a pointed look. “Talk to Mako. I think it would help.”

“Yeah…yeah maybe I actually will,” sighed Yancy. He shook his head though and quickly delved back into their prior conversation.

They managed to kill about twenty more minutes before Chuck got up to throw away their trash. As he walked back to see Yancy putting the bags in his lap, Chuck asked, “You want anything for Christmas?”

“No, I told Mako it was alright.”

“Well, she’s already gotten joint presents for you and your sister and I know that whatever Raleigh gets from me was picked out by her,” snorted Chuck. “Not that I care but…you listened yesterday. Figured I might as well ask.”

“I’m good but thanks. Really,” Yancy said with a small smile. “If it helps, just think of today as my Christmas present. You were nice enough to humor me and buy me food after all.”

Chuck snorted. “Whatever,” he replied, going behind and pushing Yancy along. Once at the door, he took the bags and let Yancy push himself onto his crutches. He kept a close eye on him but even when he was struggling a bit, he didn’t immediately help knowing Yancy would appreciate that more. He only helped once they were actually at the car as it was clear Yancy’s legs might actually give there.

Once in, they headed back, the drive taking nearly forty minutes thanks to the traffic. They’d been gone for a majority of the day as the time neared five. Chuck wasn’t too surprised that Raleigh was the first one outside and he assumed the young woman by his side was Jazmine. He was pretty sure she’d cut her hair since they’d last met but from her hair color, eyes, and jaw line she clearly was a Becket.

Chuck let the sounds of the reunion drift away, grabbing the bags and taking them up to his room to wrap later. As he came down, he saw Luna and Herc setting up Trivial Pursuit.

“Seriously? That shit? I hate that game.”

“Oh come on, it’ll be fun,” laughed Luna. “Besides, better than Monopoly.”

“True,” Chuck replied as he sat down next to his father.

“Trip go well?” Herc asked.

“Just had to get some things.”

“And Yancy?”

“What? He asked to come,” muttered Chuck.

Herc and Luna gave him curious glances.

“I don’t hate the guy outright? Is that good enough?” asked Chuck with a groan, turning to focus on Max as the dog came near. “Hey boy. Sorry I was gone all day. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. Promise.”

He turned to helping them with the game, eventually everyone else joining. Chuck got reintroduced to Jazmine, or Jaz as she preferred, again as everyone else had been introduced while they’d been driving home and then they all split up into teams. Stacker and Herc on one, Tamsin and Luna, then Chuck and Mako, and then Becket siblings together.

As they got started, Chuck could tell right away that Jaz wasn’t as outspoken as either brother and all three had a bit trouble with answering the questions due to being American. Herc insisted on going a bit easy but Chuck was as ruthless as ever, Mako’s competitive streak coming out too. Nevertheless, all history and science based questions Jaz got right instantly.

Chuck gave a quick whistle at one particular moment and muttered, “I think you’re smarter than both your brothers put together Jaz.”

For once, Raleigh didn’t glare at him but instead he and Yancy glanced at each other like the proud, older brothers they were. Yancy replied, “I should hope so. This is her first year as a graduate student after all.”

“Wait! Aren’t you my age?!” exclaimed Chuck in shock.

Jaz gave a quick nod. “Finished high school early.”

“And your undergraduate,” said Raleigh as he nudged his sister with a proud look.

“I like to learn,” she replied, momentarily looking away before adding, “Besides, the faster I go, the more likely I’ll get to meet some of my heroes. Like Dr. Geiszler.”

“You mean Newt Geiszler?” asked Chuck with a frown.

Silence passed between everyone before suddenly Jaz seemed to explode forth, all shyness disappearing. Well at least Chuck now knew what got her as excited and talkative as Raleigh and Yancy could get.

They went on, talking about Newt (and the fact that Jaz was amazed they called him that was pretty amusing). Herc eventually mentioned he was coming over on New Year’s Eve leading Jaz to let out a dramatic groan that she had to have inherited from Yancy.

“But I have to go back before then for my internship,” she moaned.

“Just lie and stay here,” Chuck replied. Mako hit him in the side for that. “What? It’s what I would do.”

Herc gave his son a pointed look. “And that’s probably why you haven’t landed an internship.”

Chuck responded with a kick under the table.

They went on a bit longer, Jaz practically brimming with excitement and awe as she made Raleigh promise that he’d pass on her information to Dr. Geiszler. By the time Tamsin asked, “Whose turn was it again?” they had all completely forgotten. Chuck insisted he and Mako had won though Luna argued it was a draw since they hadn’t actually finished the game. The arguing was all in good fun though as they laughed and joked before finally folding the game away for another day.

Jaz helped set up the couch since she was sleeping downstairs with Yancy and Chuck took Max out one last time. He said good night to everyone and then went back upstairs to work on his project and wrap the last minute gifts. The motions were simple enough allowing for his mind to wonder as he made sure the proportions were right.

He thought back to the day, to how he’d actually spent half his day with a Becket and hadn’t wanted to rip his eyes out. Despite the rather surprising, and Chuck would argue totally uncalled for, start to their relationship, he didn’t mind Yancy too much. The guy had his fair share of problems and maybe others in that situation wouldn’t care for Chuck’s straight forward attitude and jokes but Yancy seemed able to handle it.

And then he’d actually put up with his bullshit the other day. Yancy had said he’d humored him today with the trip to the city but it had really been Yancy that had humored Chuck before. He already knew he wouldn’t have been able to do the same with Raleigh. He just wouldn’t have been anywhere near comfortable enough to talk like that and he could never put that kind of pressure onto Marko.

Damn it all, he really was starting to like Yancy. He wondered what would happen after this break. Would he ever see Yancy again? Where was the man going to go?

Chuck shook his head. Was he really letting a Becket take up so much of his thoughts like this? He had to be going soft or something. He quickly finished up the presents, got into bed, and pulled the covers around him. None of it really mattered so why worry about it? He probably wouldn’t see much of Yancy after these next few days and with any hope, Raleigh and Mako would stop dating and he wouldn’t have to deal with a Becket again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for the kudos and comments. It means a lot!

As per Christmas tradition, Chuck stuck with his pajamas as he got up and headed downstairs at about seven in the morning. Again, he wasn’t too surprised that most were up and even then, there was just some type of pull that made waking up on Christmas morning exciting rather than tiring. Still, he was surprised that their last guest for the day was already there. Chuck paused on his way down the stairs as he took in the sight of Jake Pentecost. He was unable to hide the shock at not only seeing Jake actually hug his father-things must have really improved in the past year-but he hugged Herc as well.

Fuck, he remembered when the kid had been ready to take Herc’s head off for marrying his dad.

“Da, I see that you’ve finally replaced me,” Chuck joked as he finally stepped off the staircase. The continuation of the joke left his head though as he blinked and really looked at the kid. Chuck was still the taller of the two but… “Shit you sprouted didn’t you.”

“Language,” warned Herc.

“Ah, like you’re any better,” snorted Chuck. “Besides, I’m sure you’ve heard way worse at school.”

“Every day,” Jake assured him with a small twitch of his lips. His eyes lighted up at seeing the dog. “His name’s Max, right?”

“Yep. Don’t worry. I’m sure he remembers you,” Chuck assured him just as Max waddled over, panting happily as Jake bent down to scratch his head and Stacker closed the door.

Just then, Yancy let out a groan from the living room. His words were somewhat muffled, likely by a pillow but Chuck was pretty sure he said something along the lines of, “What is wrong with this family? Haven’t you ever heard of sleeping in?”

One quick glance showed that Jaz took after her eldest brother as Raleigh continued to try and convince the two to get up.

“What’s with the sleepy blonde yanks in the living room?” asked Jake with a raised eyebrow.

Chuck laughed at the accurate description as Raleigh quickly straightened, seeming to remember that they weren’t exactly off in some bedroom but still very much in the middle of the living room.

“Uh, hey kid,” Raleigh got out. “You must be Jake.”

“I don’t care who he is. Let me sleep,” groaned Yancy, Jaz seconding that.

“We are guests here,” hissed Raleigh.

“No harm done. Besides, it is Christmas,” Mako said as she walked through the living room and over to them. “It’s good to see you Jake.”

“You too Mako,” he replied, both giving a respectful nod to each other.

Jake glanced back towards the living room, eyebrow still raised in only a way that could be countered by Stacker himself. “So why are there three blonde yanks in the living room again?”

Mako gave a slight laugh, gesturing Raleigh over as his attempts at getting his brother and sister up were currently useless. “This is my boyfriend Raleigh Becket and that is his brother Yancy and his sister Jazmine.”

Jake made a little shrug, seemingly indifferent to the three of them. However, his face did brighten at suddenly seeing Luna appear in the hall. Similar to Chuck, despite the times when he’d had problems with his father, he’d always been on good terms with Aunt Luna.

“Look at you! I swear you’ve grown four inches since I last saw you,” laughed Luna as she came over and quickly wrapped her nephew into a hug. Tamsin appeared not far behind and quickly hugged Jake as well.

Jaz had finally gotten up and shyly moved over. “You’re Stacker’s son?”

He nodded. “Jake.”

“Jaz,” she responded with a small smile. “The man refusing to get up is Yancy.”

“Figured as much,” Jake said as Raleigh let out a tired sigh and Chuck a quick laugh.

“Have you eaten yet?” asked Stacker.

“Naw, not yet.”

“Good. Breakfast should be ready in just a few minutes.”

Jake gave his father a side glance. “Herc didn’t touch it? Did he?”

“Why is it that everyone asks that?” Herc groaned. “It’s not like I touch it and it immediately turns to shit.”

“Language,” laughed Chuck as Herc punched him in the shoulder.

“No, he wasn’t involved in the cooking process,” Stacker said with a quiet laugh. “What do you want to drink?”

They all started to move back to the kitchen though Chuck paused to sit on the side of the pullout couch. “So, any chance you’re going to move in the next two hours?”

“Hmm, you got coffee?” Yancy mumbled.

“Of course,” Chuck replied. He shook his head though, looking at the man curled into the pile of blankets. “How could you have possibly been in the army? Don’t they have like strict sleep schedules and stuff?”

“Yep. Didn’t change the fact that I fucking hate mornings though,” groaned Yancy as he pushed himself up. He still kept one of the blankets wrapped around his shoulders. “Why are you in your pajamas?”

“Tradition. One of the few times when Stacker and Da actually take a moment to relax too. We typically have breakfast in our pajamas, hang out and talk until about eleven and then we start to get dressed. Stacker will start cooking anything that needs to be done and set up the rest and we’ll have an early Christmas dinner at about three and then open presents afterwards. Then we watch our Christmas movie tradition.”

“ _It’s A Wonderful Life_?” asked Yancy. “The Rudolph claymation special?”

“Naw, _Die Hard_.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Yancy laughed.

“Hey, it’s the best Christmas movie there is,” Chuck grinned. “You getting up?”

“Hmm…bring me a cup of coffee first?”

“Not your maid,” said Chuck though he was more amused than annoyed.

“Well you could drag me under that mistletoe again…”

“I’m getting it now!”

Yancy let out another laugh as Chuck hurried into the crowded kitchen and went towards the coffee pot. He ignored most of the conversations, filling up two mugs and going straight back into the living room. He got on the pull out couch, sitting cross-legged as he handed the other mug towards Yancy. He let out a small laugh at the look of pure bliss on Yancy’s face the moment he took a sip.

“Better?”

“Much,” sighed Yancy before opening his eyes again. “Happy Holidays and all that jazz Chuck.”

“Right back at ya,” Chuck snorted sipping at his own.

He looked up as Mako come back in. She chose to sit down on the bed as well and asked, “How does breakfast in the living room sound?”

“Do I have to move?” asked Yancy.

“Not a muscle.”

“You’re spoiling him,” Chuck warned with a sharp smile.

“Ah, he’s a guest. I think it should be fine,” Mako replied. “Besides, Christmas spirit.”

“Despite the fact that neither of us are Christian,” snorted Chuck.

“It’s more of a capitalistic ritual now anyways,” Yancy replied.

Chuck laughed. “Nothing does say Christmas quite like buying a lot of shit.”

“Well said,” grinned Mako as she got up and went back to the kitchen. It didn’t take long for everyone to start filtering in, Jaz taking up the empty space on the bed as well. Mako and Raleigh took up room on the loveseat, Luna got the comfy chair, and chairs were brought in from the dining table for everyone else.

Plates went round and Herc made another pot of coffee. Everyone ‘accidently’ dropped something for Max to quickly eat at one point or another, and they all talked and chatted in the warm room. Just as Chuck had said, they went through the usual pattern, only with a much fuller house than usual. After plates started to get washed and Stacker and Luna were back in the kitchen prepping everything, Chuck went back up to get dressed.

When he came back down, he took Max outside and noted the fresh snow. Despite how much he hated the cold, he had to admit that there was something almost unearthly about the amount of white that was surrounding them. He motioned for Max to come back once he was done at the edge of the yard just as he found that others had followed him outside.

And by found out, it meant he got a cold mass of slush thrown at the back of his head.

“Hey!” he yelled, whipping around just in time to see Jaz hiding behind Raleigh.

“Nice one sis,” Raleigh smirked as Jaz gave a tentative smile from behind.

“Oh, it’s on Beckets,” growled Chuck with a fierce grin.

Just then, Mako came out, pulling a surprised looking Jake along. She walked over to Chuck and then placed her hands on either brother’s shoulder. “Family sticks together and we can’t very well have the Americans beat us. Now can we?” The way she said it, she might as well have been speaking at a conference, not readying for a snowball fight.

Chuck looked at Jake and raised an eyebrow before holding up his fist. “Mori, Pentecost, and Hansen as one? They couldn’t possibly beat us eh?”

Jake’s face broke into a smile and he returned the fist bump. “Like hell they could.”

“Yeah!”

“Well best make it even then.”

Raleigh’s eyes widened and the mirth on his face momentarily dropped. “Yancy—”

However, Yancy managed to get out into the yard before dropping to his knees. He was still in his pajamas though he at least had shoes and a jacket on. The fall was purposeful as he wouldn’t be any good at making snowballs but he immediately started to push up the snow into a wall instead. “Can’t yet the damn Aussie beat us, now can we?”

“You’re on Becket!”

The competitive streak that ran in everyone kept any arguments that could have popped up at bay. Instead, everyone went into battle mode. Chuck, Mako, and Jake dropped to the thick, snowy ground immediately. Chuck began to fortify their defenses as Mako and Jake went about making the snowballs as quickly as possible while dodging what was being thrown by the Beckets.

They could definitely blame (or perhaps thank?) their upbringing as they went into full strategic mode. Jake and Mako at first gathered as many snowballs as they could as Chuck protected them from the Beckets’ siege. Once there was enough made, Mako began throwing them with startling power and accuracy as Jake continued to make them and Chuck made their wall all the sturdier before finally joining in.

Laughter and loud cheers could likely be heard several gardens over as the two groups went at it. Chuck was particularly thrilled, getting to aim things at Raleigh’s head as Mako didn’t yell at him for once. Time ceased to exist in that moment. There was nothing but the joy of it all as snow went flying back and forth and the yard was upturned like a whole stampede had just come through.

Chuck had gotten to recognize Raleigh’s pattern and took a chance, packing a particularly hard snowball. He took aim and threw it as hard as he could.

Granted, there was a reason he’d stuck with engineering and hadn’t followed his parents into the army.

Raleigh ducked and Yancy’s face happened to appear for a brief second before he was flung backwards with the force.

“Shit!”

The miniature war forgotten, Chuck dived across the yard to where Yancy was sprawled on his back. Not a snowball flew as everyone rushed to his side. Raleigh didn’t even bother yelling at Chuck, worry clear on his face as he grabbed hold of his brother. Each breath that Yancy got out was a barely discernible wheeze and—

And he was laughing.

“Christ, say something next time!” Chuck yelled. “Don’t fucking worry us like that!”

Yancy simply kept laughing though, a grin wide on his face as he tried to gasp out a response. “You-you’re the one-that threw-threw it at me.”

“I was aiming for Raleigh if it helps.”

“Hey!”

It was hard to get angry though as the comment only made Yancy laugh harder. Chuck shook his head in amazement as Raleigh finally relaxed enough to release a small laugh of his own.

“I think this means you guys won,” Yancy got out as the laughing subsided and he could finally breathe again.

“Damn right,” Chuck said.

“Be a gracious winner and help me up then,” Yancy chuckled. “I don’t think I could even push myself into a sitting position if I wanted to.”

Both Raleigh and Chuck went to grab Yancy’s hands, pulling him up and getting an arm around either’s shoulder. Jaz grabbed the crutches and Mako went for the door, Max happily following after them. He’d had just as much fun in the game, running back and forth and trying to catch snowballs. Like everyone else though, the dog happily panted once inside, warmth surrounding them like a warm blanket.

Chuck couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed how cold he was before. Now that he was inside though, he was positively freezing, his fingers and toes thoroughly frozen. The heat of the house almost hurt. His clothes were also pretty damp so the first thing he did after letting Yancy go was to run back upstairs and change them. Coming back down, Yancy and Raleigh weren’t there, the younger brother likely helping him into warmer clothes as well.

Chuck headed into the kitchen. Jake was excitedly telling his father and Herc all that had happened, ending with, “And then Chuck pegged the Yancy guy in the face.”

“Not intentional!” Chuck quickly added.

“He was aiming for Raleigh,” laughed Jaz.

“Hey, at least we won,” Chuck shot back, face utterly smug. “Serves you right for throwing that first hit at the back of my head.”

“Fair enough,” she chuckled.

“Here,” Herc added, handing over a cup of what seemed to be coco. “Warm ya up.”

“Thanks,” sighed Chuck. His fingers practically burned from the heat but he didn’t let go as the cold left his bones.

Looking at the nearest clock, it was amazing that not much time at all had passed. Out there, it had seemed like it had gone on for ages. Granted, if it had gone on as long as it felt, they all would have had frost bite so it was probably for the best.

With not much else to do until Stacker finished dinner, everyone started to pitch in here and there, Yancy and Raleigh joining soon after. The rest of the day was mostly uneventful and no more snowballs were unsuspectingly thrown at the back of Chuck’s head. Presents were gotten and placed under the tree, and at about three, Herc started to set the table. They’d extended the table but had to pull in a few more mismatching chairs and once everyone sat down, Jake ended up perched on a stool. It was possibly the biggest Christmas Chuck had ever had and the strangest in some ways for sure. Nevertheless, he found himself smiling far more often than he was expecting to. Raleigh didn’t even annoy him to much as jokes flew back and forth and Chuck kicked Yancy under the table more than once for a lewd comment.

Afterwards, they all pitched in to clean up and by five they were heading into the living room. Jaz and Jake got caught under the mistletoe much to Luna’s delight and a quick, embarrassed kiss on the cheek occurred as Luna cheered them on. Once everyone was settled and more coca was made, gifts went round. People slowly opened each bag or box one by one. Mako’s presents that were technically from Chuck as well were sensible and nice, just little things that most people would have appreciated. Luna’s presents were of course outlandish and sometimes quite ridiculous and Jake couldn’t help but give Chuck a somewhat confused look when he opened his. “Thanks?”

“We’ll go back and get you something else if you want but I was trying.”

Jake laughed though, a smile seeming to brighten his face despite it all.

The best gift opening was Max’s though as Herc finally got the bone from Max’s stalking that the dog had been so patiently waiting for. He immediately dragged it nearer to the fireplace, gnawing on it happily as everyone chuckled at the display.

By the time all the presents were opened and the aftereffects contained, it had just passed eight o’clock meaning it was time for the movie. While Stacker set it up, Chuck got his answer to if Jake was spending the night (it was a yes) and went up stairs to prepare the cot for him. Once back down, the movie was ready and the fire still going as it cast the living room in a soft glow once _Die Hard_ began to play.

Chuck somehow found himself on the couch next to Yancy, Jaz on his other side much like that morning, and about halfway through he noted how the eldest Becket had fallen fast asleep, his head resting on Chuck’s shoulder. Granted, Yancy had been yawning far more than usual that day, likely from the snowball fight, and Chuck had figured it was just a matter of time.

Once the movie was over, he nudged him awake with a small smile. “Can’t believe you fell asleep during _Die Hard_.”

“I did?” mumbled Yancy.

“Completely,” Chuck replied. “Come on, gotta pull you up if we’re to make the bed for you and Jaz.”

Yancy made a few more incoherent mumbles, utterly knackered as Chuck helped to get him on his feet. Once the bed was made, Chuck helped him back down and before his head even hit the pillow he was asleep again.

Everyone retired to their own rooms, Jake following Chuck back up to his. Chuck let him borrow some pajamas and though they were a bit big, it was amazing that he was growing into them already.

Chuck expected to fall right to sleep, pretty tired from the day’s events as well. However, as he lay there in the dark, Jake asked, “You aren’t…mad at me? Are you?”

“What? Why the hell would I be?” He rolled over to stare towards the spot where Jake lay. “If you’re talking about the broken nose, that was ages ago.”

Jake laughed at the memory but it was clear from his tone that he wasn’t reassured. “I just mean with your dad and all. Like…I know you meant it as a joke but I’m not trying to replace you or Mako—”

“Kid, you could never conjure up the amount of anger, fear, and bone weary tiredness that I have caused Da in past years,” snorted Chuck. “You aren’t ever going to fill these shoes.”

“But—”

“Listen,” Chuck said as he turned on his bedside lamp, “I’m glad you’re getting along with my dad. I wasn’t the easiest on him and neither were you for that matter but he does like you and he wants to do good with you and not just for Stacker’s benefit. Yeah, we haven’t always gotten along and we’ve never lived together but we are brothers if you want to get technical. You’re a part of this family as much as me.”

“Does that mean you’ll deal with my mom?”

“Oh god. I didn’t say that!”

Jake laughed and this time Chuck was able to see how the youth’s shoulders eased back and he let out a soft sigh. “Alright…cool. I just…I was kind of worried this would all be a shit show or something.”

“You and me both,” snorted Chuck.

Jake smiled at that before turning over and giving a curious glance. “So…is Yancy like your boyfriend?”

“Good night Jake!” Chuck yelled as he quickly turned off the light.

“Just asking,” Jake laughed.

“Oh yeah? Well what about that friend of yours that Stacker’s mentioned from time to time? The foreign exchange student? Nate or something?”

“Shut it!”

“Ha! Didn’t like that, did you!?”

“Go to bed Chuck!”

“You’re the one who started—”

“Both of you quiet down!” shouted Mako from outside the door. “I believe the whole house can hear you!”

They erupted into laughter as Chuck focused more on the sound than Jake’s assumptions.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost forgot to update today lol. Hope you guys enjoy!

“I still can’t believe I’m missing meeting Dr. Geiszler,” cried Jaz.

It was the day after Christmas and though most places were still holding onto the Holiday feeling, the airport seemed to have reverted back to what all airports felt like: tedious and boring. The line Jaz needed to get into was off a ways as everyone said their goodbyes except for Herc, Stacker, Luna, and Tamsin, already having done that at home. Jaz was prolonging it all just a little with her complaining of not getting to meet Newt.

“You can always say fuck it,” Chuck cheerfully replied.

“Don’t encourage her,” sighed Raleigh.

Chuck just let out another laugh as Raleigh and Yancy hugged their sister goodbye.

“Promise to visit before the next semester begins,” Raleigh stressed.

“Of course. It was nice meeting you all. Good to see you again Chuck,” she said.

He gave a little nod as she hugged her brothers one last time and then headed into the line. Since Jaz’s flight hadn’t been until later that evening, Chuck, Mako, Jake, Raleigh, and Yancy had all gone to the city with her, getting to see the sights and stop by a few shops right up until she had to get to the airport. The day had been filled with eating far too much food again and grabbing a few useless things here and there as it snowed throughout most of the day.

With Jaz finally off to her terminal now, Chuck turned to Jake and asked, “So, we need to get you to your mom’s or what?”

“She said I could stay a few more days if…that’s ok?”

“Of course,” Mako said with a soft smile.

Chuck nodded. “We’ll have to leave for California soon anyways. Might as well take advantage of the time we have.”

“So what next?” asked Yancy.

“There’s this light show tonight.”

“I’d forgotten about that. I believe it happens every year the day after Christmas,” Mako said. “It really is quite beautiful with plenty of winter themed stalls.”

Raleigh looked to his brother. “Are you—”

“I’m down for it. Just won’t be able to walk much.”

“Right…let’s go see a movie for the moment then. Let you get your strength back and by that time the show should be in full swing,” Chuck said.

“What movie?” asked Jake.

“How about your pick kid?”

“Anything?”

“Within reason,” Chuck quickly added.

From there, they headed to the theater where Jake picked the most action packed, bloodiest Christmas themed movie possible. Considering that _Die Hard_ was the Christmas movie of tradition for their family, Chuck would say he was definitely getting into the spirit. Once it was over, they stayed out nearly to nine at the light show, moving slow so that Yancy didn’t get too winded.

Once they were back, Chuck gave a quick hello to Stacker and his dad and his aunts before deciding to go work on his project. Jake followed him to his room and started to mess around with some video game Chuck wasn’t familiar with. He was pretty sure Mako and Raleigh were going to her room and Yancy seemed pretty exhausted again meaning that everyone was content to retire for the night.

Becoming almost laser focused in his work, Chuck was shocked that it had just passed midnight by the time he chanced a look at the clock. He thought about going to bed but he felt if he stopped now he’d hit a wall. He decided to grab a snack instead and continue his work on into the night.

“If I was a better big brother, I’d yell at you to go to bed,” Chuck said as he looked over at Jake.

He shrugged. “Going to try and pull the responsible older sibling card now?”

“Naw, way too late for that. Need anything?”

Jake laughed and shook his head. “Should be good for the night.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back.”

Chuck softly closed his door, knowing that by now everyone on the second floor had to be asleep. However, as he headed down the stairs, a slight frown set into his face. Nearly all the lights were on in the living room. Now, he didn’t know Yancy extremely well despite their bonding thus far. Perhaps the reason he was so opposed to early wakeups was because he stayed up late. However, Chuck imagined he’d have fallen straight to bed the moment they got back, all the exercise and motion fully exhausting him.

Yet there he was, sitting up in the fully lit room. The Christmas tree was even on. Of course, maybe he had gone straight to bed and had only recently woken up but why turn on all the lights? Why not just the lamp near his the couch? He didn’t seem to be doing anything either unlike that one night Chuck had come down. He wasn’t reading a book or watching TV.

He made sure that his presence was known but even then, he noted the jolt that seemed to run through Yancy at his approach.

“Sorry,” Chuck quickly said. “Just grabbing a snack.”

“It’s…fine. I was just about to go to bed anyways.”

Now why did that sound like a lie?

Chuck didn’t fight him on it though, for once deciding that direct confrontation may not be the best path. Instead he simply nodded and headed into the kitchen. As he came back out, he glanced back over and asked, “Want me to turn off the lights for you so you don’t have to get up?”

“…sure.”

Again with the hesitance but he felt like all he’d get was denial if he just asked. Instead, he did exactly that, flicking each light off, even the Christmas tree before heading towards the main set of light switches. Though the light for the stairs were still on, once he flicked this switch the living room would mainly fall into darkness. He kept his eyes focused on Yancy as he turned it down.

The reaction he saw, though small, had him immediately turning it back on, walking over, and slipping under the covers.

“What—”

“Wasn’t going to bed anytime soon. Let’s watch a movie. Your pick this time.”

Yancy just stared at him, confused and uncertain as Chuck turned the TV on. He kept it low since his aunts were still sleeping downstairs as he started to flip through the channels. “Hmm, has to be something on somewhere…”

Chuck thought that Yancy wouldn’t pick after a bit and almost chose some crime drama that sounded somewhat interesting when Yancy pointed to one. “That one.”

Shrugging, Chuck clicked it and was a bit surprised to see it be an animated film that he’d never heard of. Glancing over, he noted how Yancy suddenly shook his head and muttered, “Never mind, you can choose. You probably don’t—”

“Your choice. That’s what I said,” Chuck replied, setting the remote aside and leaning back. “Guessing it’s some movie you saw as a kid?”

Yancy gave a small nod.

Chuck turned to silence as the movie played, showing the journey of a small orange cat and pack of dogs that took place in New York, because every American film took place in New York damn it. But what Chuck would have usually laughed at and picked apart he stayed silent for. Wasn’t exactly a movie he’d watch in his own time, definitely meant for kids, but it wasn’t awful. He simply continued to watch and kept an eye on Yancy throughout it.

Slowly, Yancy seemed to relax, pressing up against him. Chuck almost expected some joke but that mirthful light never lit up his face like it usually did. Chuck had a theory as to what was going on. Though Stacker nor Herc had ever experienced it, growing up with two dads in the army meant Chuck had grown up knowing war wasn’t the game that some films and books liked to show it as. He didn’t ask, didn’t push just in case that turned out to be the wrong move as the movie went on.

By the time it was finished, it was about half past one yet Yancy still didn’t seem ready to go to sleep. He was tired, that much was obvious but he was actively fighting it, not passing out like he would have before.

“Wanna watch another movie?”

Yancy simply nodded.

Another animated film. Another bright and colorful adventure as Yancy rested against him. The night went on and Chuck had to fight back a few yawns. It had been a while since he’d stayed awake this long. About half way through the new movie, he couldn’t quite hide the exasperated sound and Yancy murmured, “Sorry. You can go to bed if you want to.”

“Do you want to be alone?” asked Chuck.

Silence for a while until… “No.”

“Then I’ll stay.”

It took longer for Yancy to speak up again. Chuck honestly started to doubt he would at all but the admittance did come, soft and scared and uncertain. “Most nights…most nights don’t get like this. I don’t know why some nights are worse than others. They just…just are.”

“Well you can always talk to me if it happens,” murmured Chuck, remembering Yancy’s own words towards him. “Or not. Whatever you need.”

He gave a small nod, his mouth quirking into a smile though it still didn’t reach his eyes.

“You know…you really look like you need to sleep.”

“I can’t,” Yancy murmured. “Not alone. Not in the dark. Not like before.”

“You…called it an explosion. But what happened?” Chuck finally asked.

“It was an explosion,” Yancy murmured. “But it was at night.”

Hence the need for light. That made sense.

“No one else survived. I was alone and unable-unable to move. Thought I’d die out there and sometimes…sometimes I can’t help but feel nothing has changed.”

“Then I’ll prove it to you,” Chuck said softly.

“How?”

“By sticking with you and keeping the lights on. You’re not alone right now,” Chuck replied. He tugged him. “Come on. Let’s get to bed.”

Yancy frowned. “Where?”

“My room. Kind of hard sleeping down here if everyone in this house wakes up at six thirty and starts walking through.”

“But…I can’t really…walk very easily up stairs.”

“I’ll carry you. Come on. You’ll probably worry Raleigh more if you get three hours of sleep and end up looking like a zombie tomorrow. Better to get a full night’s rest if possible.”

Chuck waited just in case, for a nod or small ‘yes’. When he got that, he eased off the bed and wrapped an arm under Yancy’s legs and then round his back. With a grunt, he got him into the air.

“So strong.”

“I see you’ve got your sense of humor back.”

“Getting there,” Yancy murmured.

Chuck went carefully up the stairs, making sure to keep his grip tight on Yancy. The guy honestly wasn’t that heavy and Chuck wondered how much muscle mass he still had yet to gain back since the accident. Once at his door, Chuck looked at him. “You can stand for a second, yeah?”

Yancy nodded. Chuck still supported him but now he was able to push his door open. Jake was still lying on his cot, his hand-held device above his head. Glancing over, he immediately put it down and jumped to his feet.

“Is everything alright?”

“Cuddle pile. Now,” Chuck replied as he kicked the door shut. He lifted Yancy up again and placed him on the bed.

“Uh…why?” Jake asked.

“Because we all should have been in bed about six hours ago. Now get,” said Chuck.

“Is this like…some sibling exercise?” Jake asked.

“Come on, now.”

“Alright…” Jake slowly walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. He gave Yancy a pointed look. “You’re…not alright.”

“Way to be blunt,” sighed Chuck as he slipped under the covers.

“Not wrong kid,” Yancy softly replied.

Jake seemed to mull that over in his head and any teenage awkwardness over the situation disappeared as he went to Chuck’s closet. It didn’t take long for him to find what he was looking for and when he walked back, he threw the stuffed animal at Yancy and jumped in on the other side. “Psych class had something about having a comfort blanket in situations like this. You squeeze that as hard as you need to.”

“Excuse me but he’s my teddy bear,” snorted Chuck.

“That you locked off in your closest,” Jake smirked. “Besides, you’re the one that said cuddle pile. You can sacrifice a stuffed animal.”

“Fair enough,” Chuck said before turning his gaze back to Yancy. “I’m not…pushing to much am I?”

Yancy shook his head.

“Good, then let’s go to bed. I’m fucking exhausted,” sighed  Chuck.

He leaned back. Simply closing his eyes really made him realize just how tired he was and he didn’t think of how weird it was that he was sleeping up curled next to Raleigh’s brother who was holding an old teddy bear of his with his own step-brother on the other side. No, he didn’t really think of that and just passed out into a dreamless sleep.

Soft knocking had him groggily getting up. Jake and Yancy were still fast asleep and one glance at the clock showed that it was still far too early. He stifled a yawn and softly headed to his door, peaking out to find Mako there.

“It’s blood winter break. I’m gonna sleep in,” muttered Chuck.

Mako simply laughed. “Stayed up far too late, didn’t you?”

“We all did,” Chuck whispered.

“Is Yancy with you?”

“I’m guessing Raleigh wants to know. Tell him not get an aneurism and to let his brother sleep.”

Mako rolled her eyes. “I’ll try. Was he…alright?”

It took Chuck a moment to fully understand. “You knew.”

She nodded. “You stayed with him?”

“Insisted on it. Jake helped too.”

“Good. He needs that kind of comfort,” murmured Mako. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell Raleigh and make sure you all get some sleep.”

“Thanks. I was up till near four,” Chuck groaned.

“Well try to get up by twelve, alright? We’re supposed to be going ice skating with Aunt Luna and Tamsin this afternoon. They leave tomorrow morning.”

“Will do,” Chuck murmured as he closed the door again.

He carefully made his way back to the bed, slipping in next to Yancy. The death grip he’d had on the stuffed bear before was gone and his face looked far more peaceful now. Like the other nights, he was in his long pajamas and Chuck couldn’t see any of the scarring that might have been there.

Jake looked just as peaceful and Chuck thought about how much they had been at odds in their younger years. Ironic that now he lived on a different continent they were actually bonding but…well maybe they could be a family now. It was a nice thought.

Chuck shifted slightly, pressing his head against the pillow just as Yancy’s grip loosened on the bear and rolled towards him, grabbing his arm instead. Chuck froze for a few seconds, not expecting the sudden contact. He watched him for just a little more, making sure he didn’t wake up before drifting off to sleep again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I forgot to post yesterday! Argh! Sorry about that. Anyways, here's Chapter 8 and I promise I'll get Chapter 9 out next Monday.

Chuck rubbed his eyes tiredly as Max tugged him along in the front. He suddenly felt his father pull him to the right, making him stumble over his own two feet.

“You slept till nearly one and yet you’re still so tired you look like you’re going to walk right into traffic,” snorted his dad.

“It was a long night,” groaned Chuck. He rolled his shoulders as Max tugged him forward just a little faster. “Fuck, my sleep schedule is going to be ruined.”

“Usually I’d call you an idiot and knock you upside the head.”

“You’ve already done that Da.”

“True, but I would have done it once more if I hadn’t known why.” For a moment, Herc looked like he wouldn’t continue despite how his thought was clearly unfinished.

Hansen men never had been great at expressing emotions. It kind of made Chuck amazed that his dad had ever actually approached Stacker in anything more than a professional way. He quickly cut off that line of thought, not wanting to know about any first meetings more than he needed. Instead, he looked back at his dad, seeing if he would say more.

They actually were almost at the ice rink before he finally spoke up again.

“I’m just proud of you is all. For connecting with Jake and helping out Yancy with all that.”

“I have grown since my young, feuding days with Jake,” snorted Chuck.

“Yeah, well you used to be a right shit of a kid,” Herc grumbled, though the smile was fond and Chuck couldn’t help but laugh.

“Now if that isn’t the truth.”

“Still, I’m just proud of you son. And glad you’re getting along with Jake. There was actually something I wanted to talk to you about…”

“Your tone says I should be worried but I honestly can’t think of a reason why that would be,” Chuck said with a confused glance.

“It’s just that…well Jake’s mom has this job offer on the continent and it looks to be a good opportunity for her but Jake doesn’t want to leave England until he finishes secondary school at least and well…what with me and Stacker being pretty stable as far as living arrangements go, I just…I wanted to know if…”

“If it was alright for Jake to move in,” Chuck finished. He couldn’t help but laugh at his old man’s disgruntled look.

“Don’t laugh. I honestly wasn’t sure how you’d—”

“It’s cool Da. Seriously,” laughed Chuck as he elbowed Herc in the side. “Now if you’d told fifteen year old me that, I would have broken a window and probably tried to run away with Mako under my arm. But…I won’t lie it’s a bit weird but hey, I’m glad things aren’t so weird between me and him now or for you and him. Let me guess, as much as you hated picking up me and Mako from the principal’s office, you’ve missed having a kid to boss around, huh?”

“I only had to boss you around because you never listened,” sighed Herc.

“What? And Jake does? Guess we’ll have to fix that,” smirked Chuck. “Hey Jake! Want to know the best ways to piss off my old man?!”

Chuck hurried on up to the rest of the group that was at the ice rink. Despite waking up a bit later than Mako had told him too, they’d all managed to get out to the place just before two. That morning-or really noon-Yancy had thanked both Chuck and Jake for staying with him all night. He already seemed chipper but there was definitely a much quieter nature about him that hadn’t been there before. Chuck had wondered if it would stay with him all day but talking to his brother seemed to have helped and now that they were outside, his smile was back to its brilliant self.

They’d taken two cars with Chuck and Herc forced to park them both. That was why they’d been trailing behind having dropping everyone at the foot of the path so that it would be easier on Luna and Yancy.

They were at a pond that was commonly used for skating when it got cold enough. It wasn’t huge or extremely beautiful or really unique so it wasn’t a huge tourist spot but it was pretty popular among the local kids. It hadn’t fully frozen last year or the time before that and Chuck remembered seeing some teen breaking the ice by accident. There wasn’t any need to worry about that today though, the entire mass a solid block of ice.

Yancy, Stacker, and Luna were sitting on a bench that had been donated by some wealthy people a few years back as Mako, Raleigh, and Tamsin started to do up their skates. Jake had a pair that Stacker had rented for him but he still looked uncertainly at the ice.

He seemed relieved that Chuck had called out to him, giving him something to do instead of just blankly looking at the scene.

“Why would I want to piss off your dad?” asked Jake as Chuck came nearer.

“Someone has to do it when I’m off in California,” laughed Chuck. He gestured at the skates. “Never done this before?”

“Once or twice,” Jake responded.

Looking out towards the younger kids that zoomed round the rink without a care in the world, Chuck understood what was really making Jake hesitate. Though he was obviously capable of getting over teenage awkwardness if necessary, last night had proved that, being in public was clearly another matter. With a sigh, Chuck sat on the cold ground and brought the skates out of his bag so that he could put them on. He hadn’t actually planned to skate that much and was hoping to mostly avoid it. Though he’d gotten better over the years of living in England, he still wasn’t great and it had been a year since the last time he’d been on a rink of any sort.

Nevertheless, if getting to see him make a fool of himself on the ice helped Jake overcome his own awkwardness, then so be it.

“Don’t worry. There’s no way you’ll be worse than an Aussie on the ice,” Chuck said as he tightened his laces. “I’m sure Mako has a few good tips for you too. She took to the ice like a natural.”

Speaking of her, Mako came over with a soft smile. “I’m glad you changed your mind about the ice. And you Jake?”

“Uh…yeah. I’m going to try it.”

“Told him you could give him a few good tips.”

“Definitely,” Mako agreed.

They waited for Jake to get his skates on as well before the siblings made it to the ice. Raleigh was already zooming around, Tamsin only a little shakier and less coordinated than he. Chuck managed to stand on his own for approximately two minutes before he fell on his ass. Jake snorted though he quickly hid the reaction. Chuck waved it away though, not as annoyed as he would have been if it was Raleigh or a stranger laughing at him.

“What did I tell you?” Chuck asked. “Already doing better than me kid.”

He pushed himself up and did a little better the second time around. Mako gave Jake pointers every step of the way and Chuck listened in just a little, remembering exactly how he was supposed to keep from falling on his ass.

They were out there for about thirty minutes before they headed back to the bank. Seeing as this was the first time the pond had completely frozen in some years, there were a few vendors and a food van out along with all the families and kids milling about. Herc was talking with the guy in charge of selling hot chocolate, a former neighbor that Chuck knew his dads had kept in contact with now and again. He said a quick hello as he headed back over to everyone else.

Yancy was in the middle of telling a story about a time he’d fallen through the ice at age seven and his dad and mom had fished him out. Raleigh had been too young to remember it so he asked just as many questions as everyone else while Yancy laughed off his near death experience, clearly finding the old tale more amusing now that he was nearly twenty years older.

“Man, I miss getting out on the ice.”

It was a simple, final sentence that only held sweet fondness with the memories that came from past skating experiences. And perhaps that’s all Yancy had meant by the words too. After all, besides the episode last night, he seemed to have already gone through all the stages of grief and was comfortably in the final stage of acceptance now. He seemed to have accepted he wouldn’t ever skate again, even if he got stronger and could be on his feet for longer amounts of time. He just didn’t seem to mind. But even with all that clearly spelled on Yancy’s face, all Chuck could do was think of those terrified looks of last night, the irrational fear and lasting trauma. He saw it still and decided to do something about it.

As the conversation moved to another topic, Chuck slipped away, looking for what he needed.

It was pure luck that Chuck had brought his wallet for food after this and that he had cash on him at all. It was also pure luck that the conman that had been there years prior was still hard at work ripping off forgetful mothers and fathers who’d left their sleds at home. The prices were ridiculous but considering Chuck hadn’t really gotten him anything for Christmas-even if he had said it was alright-he decided that this act would at least make up for it.

He gave his handful of cash with a sigh to the guy and then began to drag the sled back towards everyone. Stacker looked over with a curious gaze before a discrete smile graced his lips. Chuck was betting that he’d already figured out what Chuck’s plan was as he gave an approving nod. Everyone else’s heads turned as Chuck finally got there as he pointed at the sled.

“Alright Yancy, Luna, I’ve got an hour for this thing so how about you two make the most of it huh?”

“Wait…you’re serious?” asked Yancy. He was hesitating but Chuck could already see the excitement blooming in his eyes.

“No, I got it as a joke. Yes I’m serious! Now get your crippled ass on here. Aunt Luna, you’re next.”

“Oh hell yeah!” she yelled.

From there, Chuck helped push Yancy onto the ice and later Luna but he wasn’t exactly coordinated enough to drag them along once there. That was left to Raleigh and Mako, the two pulling their companion round and round the ice, occasionally breaking up small groups of people that were on it.

At one point, largely thanks to physics, Yancy went headfirst into a snow mound that led to plenty of laughs and a loud cheer.

As the fun continued, the conman was even nice enough to not rudely interrupt it to demand more cash for the next hour. Apparently even the swindler had a heart in this case.

Seeing as Chuck was actually out on the ice, either to help Yancy or Luna or to partner up with Jake, he found he wasn’t cold by the time Herc suggested they head back. He’d been too active to actually complain about frozen fingers or stiffs bones. Even odder was that he really had enjoyed himself, especially once Yancy and Luna had gotten in on the fun.

After everyone agreed it would be best to leave before it got dark and Chuck had returned the sled, Raleigh actually came over and murmured, “Thanks for that. It means a lot. To me and him.”

To say Chuck had always been a complete ass to Raleigh wouldn’t exactly be true but on the rare times that he’d been civil and Raleigh had replied with a quick thank you, it was only because of societal norms that they had done so in the first place or Mako had forced them too. This time though…it was obvious that Raleigh actually meant the words and the earnest look on his face had Chuck blushing and looking away.

“Yeah, whatever,” Chuck muttered, his usual bite completely gone from his tone.

After everyone’s skates were put away and they’d gotten back in the cars, they headed out to the planned restaurant for dinner. Jokes flew across the table as they all reminisced about the day. Extra time was spent talking to Aunt Luna and Tamsin since they were leaving the tomorrow and more plans were discussed for the New Year’s Eve Party. Jake also spoke about his own plans for New Year’s Eve too and said he’d probably leave the day after tomorrow.

Chuck eased into the socializing, the weird moment with Raleigh completely forgotten as he picked on the older guy throughout dinner and made fun of his dad’s bad jokes. Once they were back at the house they started a game of Cluedo. Once it was done, they continued to talk a bit more before people slowly fell off and started to head up to bed.

Jake had already run back upstairs and Chuck was soon to follow him but was stopped by Yancy.

“Hey, how much do I owe you?”

“What?”

“The guy. I know you had to rent that sled. How much?”

“I…no. You don’t have to pay me.”

“Oh come on. It didn’t look inexpensive and—”

“Think of it as your Christmas present,” interrupted Chuck. “I’m serious, I don’t need anything.”

“You know, Raleigh doesn’t give you enough credit,” Yancy laughed. “From what little he told me about you before I came here, I would have thought you to be a right dick.”

Chuck let out a slight groan. “I am.”

“Just with a heart of gold huh?”

“Whatever.”

Yancy laughed again before showing off the same brilliant smile he had that day. “Thanks anyways. It meant a lot and I had a good time.”

Chuck just let out a grunt and headed up stairs, fighting a small smile all the way.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admittedly got my over all writing mojo back and have been getting a bit distracted by a major story that I'm writing. Don't worry though, only one last chapter left and I promise to have this finished before Christmas. Thanks again for reading!

Overall it was a good holiday break. Despite utterly dreading it, Chuck was glad to have had the chance to see his family and the surprising connection with Jake certainly couldn’t be considered a downside. He said his goodbyes to Aunt Luna and Tamsin, later helping Herc return the downstairs office to normal. Jake left the day after having plans with Logan and some other friends from school.

Before he left, Herc, Stacker, Mako, and himself met with Jake and his mom to iron out some of the final kinks what with Jake soon moving in. Though Jake’s mother reiterated that she would have liked her son to come with her, she relented and said she could understand wanting to finish out secondary school here and that it would do some good to spend time with his father for once. She made sure to exclude Herc from that and didn’t really pay attention to Mako or Chuck but they’d gotten over wanting any acceptance from the woman long ago. She was who she was and the fact that she took care of Jake was honestly the only thing that mattered.

With Jake and his aunts finally gone though, the house was far more spacious and there wasn’t any real worry of bumping elbows anymore. It would be pretty crowded come New Year’s Eve but for the next few days it was honestly pretty quiet. Besides going out to grab supplies for the party or food, they all stayed in, playing board games, watching the occasional movie, Chuck challenging Raleigh to a video game and vice versa, and otherwise keeping out of each other’s way.

Chuck made sure to watch Yancy a bit more but the guy seemed fine. As far as Chuck could tell he didn’t have any more restless nights and he continued to smile as brightly as before. At least until New Year’s Eve came.

It started out simple enough. Yancy and Raleigh were introduced to the guests as they came in one by one. After Chuck got the pleasantries over with, he mostly stuck to his dad’s side. He liked the people fine enough and had grown up with a few of them but he wasn’t the best at conversation starters and didn’t have much in common with them. Still, if he ever felt like he needed to push himself back into conversation he could always go over to Newt. Conversations with him were easy because Chuck rarely had to say anything anyways as Newt simply rambled on about some crazy theory or experiment he was currently trying out.

He mostly kept away from Dr. Gottlieb though. Almost everything he said went over Chuck’s head and he always expected an intelligent response back. If he didn’t get it, he usually let out a harrumph and walked away. The only person he didn’t do that to was Newt. It didn’t matter what the function was, one way or another they’d interact and then the rest of the night the two would be bickering back and forth, blind to everyone else in the world.

As they got closer to midnight, fireworks started to go off around the area. It was relatively quiet compared to other areas of England but for someone who wasn’t used to fireworks, it could still be pretty off putting.

Or to a vet.

Though remaining in one place, Yancy had been pretty involved with all the guests, easily going from conversation to conversation. The moment that first rocket went off though, Chuck’s head was whipping around and he could oh so clearly notice the change. Simply looking at Yancy’s eyes, it was obvious he hadn’t expected this or at the very least hoped that it wouldn’t occur. The question of why, why can’t I enjoy this one thing seemed to be playing on his face. Either way, if that one night was any template to go off of, then it would only get worse for Yancy and the last thing he’d want was to become the center of attention like that.

Chuck made a big show of getting out another case of beers, pushing the attention back into the kitchen. He looked to Max but upon seeing that he was loving the attention and didn’t mind the fireworks too much, Chuck focused back on Yancy and quickly made his way over.

“Want to head to my room?”

Yancy gave a quick nod. Making sure to do it while no one was looking, he picked up Yancy and quickly headed for the stairs. Along the way another firework went off and this time Chuck could feel the tremor that ran through Yancy’s body.

The connection Yancy was making, it made since just as much as the shock of it all made since too. Yancy probably hadn’t been in contact with any fireworks and hadn’t even thought of what connection could occur because his different connotations for the sound of fireworks and that with his own accident. It really didn’t matter now though. What mattered was how Yancy trembled in his arms and Chuck made sure to keep his grip tight all the way up.

Once in the room, Chuck gently placed Yancy on the bed and quickly found his headphones.

“Here, put these in and just pick something,” Chuck said. “I’d like to think I have a wide variety of music.”

Yancy hesitated, his knuckles whitening as the next explosion went off. “I’m sorry I pulled you away. You should go back—”

“There’s no need,” Chuck shrugged. “Love my family and all but parties like this just aren’t my thing anyways. Besides, do you want to be alone?”

“…no.”

Chuck simply nodded in confirmation and eased down next to him. He pulled out his laptop as he watched Yancy flip through music choices before easing against the pillows as well. It definitely took the night towards an unexpected turn. Chuck had expected to get tipsy at the very least and to pass out around one o’clock. Instead, he found himself working on homework as Yancy slowly dozed off next to him. Apparently he hadn’t gotten so lost inside his head that he couldn’t distance himself from the episode and Chuck guessed the music was helping too which he was glad for.

It was just before midnight that Chuck heard the knock on his door and when he walked over, he wasn’t too surprised that it was Raleigh there. One glance at Yancy proved he was still out and Chuck quickly slipped out of his room.

“Listen, he’s really not in the—”

“Thank you.”

“What?”

“I’m not here to like…fight or accuse you of anything or whatever you think I’m trying to do,” Raleigh sighed. “I mean, I wish he would come to me but I get it. We’ve talked and I just…I mean it. Thanks for being there for him this holiday.”

Chuck didn’t say anything at first. After everything that had happened between himself and Raleigh, he honestly couldn’t believe that anything could make their relationship better. Yet here he was, being honest and open and so god damn grateful and Chuck just didn’t know how to respond. It was only because Yancy was sleeping in his room that he probably didn’t screw himself over more so and say something stupid. Instead, he just nodded and muttered, “Yeah well…didn’t want to ruin the party or anything.”

Raleigh rolled his eyes but patted him on the shoulder all the same with a small smile. “I still mean it. Thanks.”

“Whatever,” Chuck murmured but there really was no bite in his words and he could tell Raleigh saw that. He simply smirked, headed back downstairs as people got ready to do the final countdown.

Chuck carefully moved back into his room, Yancy still fast asleep as midnight came forward. He focused on his laptop again, the work moving more slowly as he kept getting distracted by the increasing explosions around them until they all came together in one huge crescendo.

Yancy didn’t wake up once, not until about an hour later and Chuck was back to working on homework. He glanced over as Yancy shifted a few times, let out a few grumbles, and then startled awake when one of the headphones was suddenly yanked out. Chuck couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Yancy slowly push himself up and rub at his eyes.

“What time is it?”

“Almost one thirty,” Chuck laughed.

“And you’ve been awake this whole time?”

“Every minute.”

Yancy let out a groan, his head hitting the pillow. “How do you do it?”

“College student, remember? I’m used to pulling an all-nighter here and there.”

Yancy just let out another groan as he covered his eyes. Peaking between his fingers, the overdramatic nature eased a little and a soft, tentative smile fell onto his lips. “Thanks. You didn’t have to.”

“No, you didn’t have to have a panic attack down there so I made sure it didn’t happen. No need to thank me.”

“Either way,” Yancy chuckled. He stretched before looking over the room, eyes finally resting on Chuck again. “You know…this is the second time I’ve slept in your bed.”

“Here it comes,” muttered Chuck.

“Here what comes?”

“That top notch humor of yours,” snorted Chuck.

“Ah, so you think I’m pretty funny huh?”

“Do they not have sarcasm over in America or what?”

Yancy laughed and rolled over so that way he was fully facing him. “You know, I think I’m going to miss this.”

“Miss what?”

“Having good reasons to jump into your bed.”

“You Beckets are such pieces of shit,” laughed Chuck as he kicked at him and Yancy pushed back. “Christ, why are Americans like this?”

Yancy just put on a full grin. “It’s in our blood.”

“God damn it.”

Yancy just laughed again and leaned in closer. “You know, I missed out on the midnight kiss.”

“Why is that even a thing? It literally makes no since.”

“Well if you’re going to leave me hanging fine…but…”

Chuck looked at the blonde Yankee and his completely full of himself grin. He wanted to hit him. He really wanted to knock him upside the head and ask why he was such an idiot. He also realized that in that moment, with no one else around and no worry of being embarrassed by his dad or Raleigh or anyone else, he kind of wanted to. He was going to miss this time he’d gotten to spend with Yancy and he’d enjoyed the…friendship that had come out of it? Was that the right way to put it? It was amazing how he’d started off as an enemy with Raleigh and ended up like this with the guy’s brother.

He looked at Yancy, at that smirk and thought about all the possible repercussions of it. Then he thought about just how fucking pissed Raleigh would be.

And with that thought, Chuck couldn’t help but snort before focusing on the more important reason for all this: that he wanted to kiss the guy anyways. So that’s exactly what he did, leaned forward and kissed him.

When he pulled back, Yancy just stared at him for a second. He seemed seriously shocked about the fact that he’d been listened to and Chuck just smirked in response. “What, don’t like a little surprise?”

“I just…I figured the question would be left unanswered.”

“God you’re such a dork.”

“And you aren’t? With your cute family and little dog?” Yancy laughed, his bravado coming back.

“Dorks together then. I can live with that as long as you realize how much of an idiot you are.”

Yancy laughed and it was difficult for Chuck not to join in but despite how amusing it was, that laughter did die down. The moment quieted and Chuck looked at the guy that he realized he’d somehow come to care about in the few days they had known each other. It certainly hadn’t been intentional but god, they’d both given up some pretty important information to each other. Chuck had never expected this all to go down but here he was.

“I will miss this. I don’t know if that means anything to you but I will.”

Chuck shook his head. “Hold on. What do you mean?”

“Like, just you really. No joking here, I’m serious. I’ve been through a lot of shit and some of the things I’ve had to deal with come from my own brother. Not intentional obviously but you…you’ve just seen me as me and even with the panic attacks and stuff you don’t…you don’t treat me any differently.”

“Maybe it’s just because I never knew you before.”

“Yeah maybe. But it matters.” This time, Yancy didn’t ask, he just leaned in and kissed him and Chuck let him.

Chuck wasn’t sure about the end of this. Yancy would have to leave in a few days anyways, so would Chuck. Would they even get to meet each other again before another Christmas came round? Chuck started to over think it, but before it got too far, he started to kiss back and all that over thinking went out the window. All that teasing before and then that first kiss, that stupid mistletoe kiss…it wasn’t like he’d been thinking about it all day every day. He hadn’t! But now that he was…Chuck could admit maybe he hadn’t hated the kiss as much as he’d acted like and he sure as hell didn’t hate this now.

What would happen next? Chuck honestly had no idea. Only that it would be a new year and if a very specific younger brother found out he’d get hell for it.


End file.
